Medical Spending Differences in the United States and Canada: The Role of Prices, Procedures, and Administrative Expenses

Medical Spending Differences in the United States and Canada: The Role of Prices, Procedures, and Administrative Expenses

The United States far outspends Canada on health care, but the sources of additional spending are unclear. We evaluated the importance of incomes, administration, and medical interventions in this difference. Pooling various sources, we calculated medical personnel incomes, administrative expenses,...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alexis Pozen, David M. Cutler
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2010-05-01
Series:Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5034/inquiryjrnl_47.02.124
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spelling doaj-cd4cef1f70024096b46173dcf26fea922020-11-25T03:17:35ZengSAGE PublishingInquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing0046-95802010-05-014710.5034/inquiryjrnl_47.02.124Medical Spending Differences in the United States and Canada: The Role of Prices, Procedures, and Administrative ExpensesAlexis PozenDavid M. CutlerThe United States far outspends Canada on health care, but the sources of additional spending are unclear. We evaluated the importance of incomes, administration, and medical interventions in this difference. Pooling various sources, we calculated medical personnel incomes, administrative expenses, and procedure volume and intensity for the United States and Canada. We found that Canada spent $1,589 per capita less on physicians and hospitals in 2002. Administration accounted for the largest share of this difference (39%), followed by incomes (31%), and more intensive provision of medical services (14%). Whether this additional spending is wasteful or warranted is unknown.https://doi.org/10.5034/inquiryjrnl_47.02.124
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Alexis Pozen
David M. Cutler
spellingShingle Alexis Pozen
David M. Cutler
Medical Spending Differences in the United States and Canada: The Role of Prices, Procedures, and Administrative Expenses
Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing
author_facet Alexis Pozen
David M. Cutler
author_sort Alexis Pozen
title Medical Spending Differences in the United States and Canada: The Role of Prices, Procedures, and Administrative Expenses
title_short Medical Spending Differences in the United States and Canada: The Role of Prices, Procedures, and Administrative Expenses
title_full Medical Spending Differences in the United States and Canada: The Role of Prices, Procedures, and Administrative Expenses
title_fullStr Medical Spending Differences in the United States and Canada: The Role of Prices, Procedures, and Administrative Expenses
title_full_unstemmed Medical Spending Differences in the United States and Canada: The Role of Prices, Procedures, and Administrative Expenses
title_sort medical spending differences in the united states and canada: the role of prices, procedures, and administrative expenses
publisher SAGE Publishing
series Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing
issn 0046-9580
publishDate 2010-05-01
description The United States far outspends Canada on health care, but the sources of additional spending are unclear. We evaluated the importance of incomes, administration, and medical interventions in this difference. Pooling various sources, we calculated medical personnel incomes, administrative expenses, and procedure volume and intensity for the United States and Canada. We found that Canada spent $1,589 per capita less on physicians and hospitals in 2002. Administration accounted for the largest share of this difference (39%), followed by incomes (31%), and more intensive provision of medical services (14%). Whether this additional spending is wasteful or warranted is unknown.
url https://doi.org/10.5034/inquiryjrnl_47.02.124
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