Did you know that the average American spends almost three times the amount of money on healthcare than they do on food? According to Forbes Marketplace, in 2016, the average employer-sponsored family insurance premium was $18,142 annually while the average household only spent $7,000 on food. Healthcare for the average household in America is high and set to go even higher in 2018. Health Populi and The Market Watch  write about how the increase in healthcare cost is resulting in less money being spent on other household expenses such as food, clothes, and retail goods.  

Even though Americans are spending an enormous amount of money on healthcare, the country is not necessarily seeing better health outcomes. There are other countries who spend a lot less on health insurance than America and have better health outcomes and even higher life expectancies. Let’s compare Japan and the U.S as an example. The average household in Japan only spends 9% of their annual income on healthcare with an average life expectancy of 85 years. In America, the mean household spends over 30% of their annual income on health related costs with a life expectancy of only 79.  As other countries spend more on healthcare, their health outcomes improve but in the U.S, health outcomes remain constant. Why are Americans spending more on health expenses and not getting any healthier?

Continue reading part 2 here.