A new study from The Commonwealth Fund reveals that although health care expenditures are greater in the United States than in 12 other developed countries, the care provided is not “notably superior.”

According to the study, in 2009, the United States spent almost $8,000 per person on health care services, compared with Japan and New Zealand who spent approximately $2,666 and Norway and Switzerland $5,333.

Even though survival rates for colorectal and breast cancer in the U.S. are better, the nation has some of the highest rates of potentially preventable deaths from asthma and amputations due to diabetes. In addition, rates for in-hospital deaths from stroke and heart attack are no better than average.

Study author David Squires, senior research associate at The Commonwealth Fund says that greater use of technology and higher prices seem to be the leading factors driving the high rates of spending in the United States, rather than greater use of physician and hospital services.

The researchers found that in 2009, health care spending in the U.S. amounted to more than 17% of gross domestic product (GDP) vs. 12% or less in other nations studied. Japan spent the lowest with less than 9% of GDP.

Results from the study indicate that neither greater supply or higher utilization of health care services were the cause of the increased spending. In the United States in 2009, there were 2.4 physicians per 100,000 population, less than in all the study countries except Japan.

In addition, the U.S. had the lowest number of doctor consultations (3.9 per capita) of any of the countries studied apart from Sweden. The U.S. also had few hospital discharges per 1,000 population, few hospital beds as well as shorter lengths of stay for acute care.

However, hospitalizations in the U.S., were considerably more expensive ($18,000+ per discharge) vs. $13,000 in Canada, and $10,000 in Germany, France, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand.

Squires explained:

“It is a common assumption that Americans get more health care services than people in other countries, but in fact we do not go to the doctor or the hospital as often.

The higher prices we pay for health care and perhaps our greater use of expensive technology are the more likely explanations for high health spending in the U.S. Unfortunately, we do not seem to get better quality for this higher spending.”

In the U.S., prices from the 30 most commonly used prescription drugs were around 33% higher than in Germany and Canada, and over 50% higher than in the UK, France, the Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand.

In addition, the researchers found that physicians in the U.S received the highest fees for hip replacements and primary care office visits and that the cost of magnetic imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans were also more expensive.

The researchers also found that U.S. health care appears to involve greater use of expensive technology than in many of the other countries studied. Even though more MRI and CT scans were performed in the United States, Japan had the most MRI and CT scanners, although there were no data available on the number of exams conducted there.

Although hip replacements were not as prevalent in the U.S. than in most of the other study countries, the prevalence of knee replacements were higher except in Germany.

The high obesity rates in the U.S. and the associated medical cost might partially explain the nations high spending. However, the United States has a very young population and few smokers relative to the other countries studied and these factors could offset higher spending associated to obesity, according to the researchers.

In addition, breast cancer survival rates were highest in the U.S., as well as survival rates, along with Norway, for colorectal cancer. However, the U.S. had worse than average survival rates for cervical cancer, well below those of Norway.

Although the rates of in-hospital deaths after stroke and heart attack were average in the U.S., the nation, along with Germany, had high rates of asthma-related deaths among individuals aged 5 to 39 and extremely high rates of amputations resulting from diabetes.

According to the researchers, all of the countries, apart from the United States, provide universal health care, and all struggle with increasing health expenditures. However, the U.S. would have saved $750 billion in 2009 if they were to spend the same share of GDP on health care as the Netherlands.

Of the study countries, Japan is the lowest spending nation ($2,878 per capita in 2008), and although its health care system shares certain features with the U.S., it operates a fee-for-service system, while providing unrestricted access to specialists and hospitals as well as a large supply of CT and MRI scanners.

In addition, Japan sets health care prices to keep total health spending within a budget allotted by the government, rather than containing costs by restricting access.

According to the study, individual payers in the U.S. negotiate prices with health care providers. This system results in complexity as well as varying prices for the same services and goods.

Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis, explained:

“The Affordable Care Act gives us the opportunity to build a health care system that delivers affordable, high-quality care to all Americans. To achieve that goal, the United States must use all of the tools provided by the law – including new methods of organizing, delivering, and paying for health care that will help to slow the growth of health care costs, while improving quality.”

Written By Grace Rattue