A new study shows that Americans are between 33% and 50% more likely to develop a chronic disease than the British, yet Americans live longer. The researchers agree that this is an indication that the U.S. healthcare system is both effective, and invested in much more heavily than the British healthcare system.
Figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) indicate that, in 2008, the U.S. spent 16 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on healthcare. This is equal to expenditures of $7,538 per person, Among the OECD’s other 32 member countries, health expenditures are only about $3,000 per person, on average. England spends only 8.7 percent of its GDP on healthcare.
In fact a co-author of the study pointed out that overall healthcare spending for the elderly is twice as much in the United States as it is in England. While seniors in America utilize Medicare for their healthcare, England provides a state-funded National Health System.
The study was conducted by U.S.-based RAND Corp and Britain’s Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). It analyzed data from existing surveys from people aged 50 and over (20,000 Americans and 12,000 Brits). The researchers honed in on the rates of major chronic diseases. These included diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, chronic lung diseases and cancer.
Americans between 55 and 64 years of age were between a third and a half more likely to suffer from one or more of the diseases. Americans in this age group were twice as likely to contract diabetes (12.07 percent vs. 5.88 percent), and the cancer rate was a third higher in the U.S. (9.57 percent opposed to 5.48 percent). The study appears in the current issue of the journal Demography.
Despite these statistics, Americans were not likely to die any sooner. And on top of that, the older that Americans get, the more likely they are to outlive their English counterparts of the same age.
According to the researchers, the U.S. healthcare system is working to keep Americans alive longer. The problem, however, is that the U.S. disease rates are alarming.
If the 60-and-over population in the U.S. had the English rate of cancer and diabetes, there would be 4 million fewer Americans with cancer and 3.5 million fewer Americans with diabetes. In both cases, that would cut the numbers almost in half.
It seems the policy priority for the U.S. should be on changing lifestyle and behavioral factors, according to the researchers. Diabetes rates are expected to climb due to the aging population and obesity pandemic in America. This means healthcare expenditures will only continue to climb and the healthcare system will undergo significant stress to keep an increasingly sick population alive.
Lastly, the researchers noted that Americans typically view the English as living unhealthy lifestyles. And while it is true that the English may drink and smoke more, it is the Americans that need to stand in front of the mirror and examine themselves from a healthful point of view. Truth be told, Americans are alarmingly unhealthy compared to the English, and it’s not even a close race. It seems the U.S. uses its healthcare system as a bailout.
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