US outspends on health care but has lower life expectancy

Despite having fewer doctors, U.S. health spending totals more than $10,000 per person per year, mainly due to private insurance costs (premiums and employer-sponsored coverage) the report found. At $4,092 per capita, American private spending is more than five times higher than Canada, the second-highest spender and more than six times that of Australia. The amount of public health care spending in the U.S. is similar to many other countries.

The lack of access to primary care results in one of the highest rates of hospitalizations for preventable conditions and the highest rate of avoidable deaths. Hospitalizations related to diabetes and hypertension, considered preventable with sufficient access to primary care, are approximately 50 percent higher in America than the OECD average.