ABSTRACT
The United States operates a health care system that is unique among nations. It is the most expensive of systems, outstripping by over half the health care expenditures of any other country (1). U.S. Health care expenditures continue to rise. The growth in national health care spending is principally due to new technologies and medications, the aging of the population, and the increasing number of uninsured and under-insured. Globally, health care costs are also on the rise. However, most countries around the world are able to deliver health care to their citizens for a fraction of what is spent in the U.S. (2).
