
The Investopedia Team
Jan. 3, 2025
The United States currently ranks highest in healthcare spending among the developed nations of the world. According to data released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2022 (latest information), the U.S. rate was a staggering $12,555 per capita.
Switzerland had the second-highest healthcare budget in 2022, with expenditures of $8,049 per capita. Germany, Norway, and Austria round out the top five, spending between $7,000 and $8,000 per capita each.
Key Takeaways
- Healthcare spending is a critical expense for most nations and their citizens in order to stay healthy and cared for.
- The U.S. continues to spend the most on healthcare per person, even though outcomes and quality of care are not often ranked highest.
- Many European countries follow the U.S. in healthcare spending, but the big difference is most of that cost is subsidized by the government while the U.S. relies on costly, private health insurance plans.

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Countries Spending the Most on Healthcare
The following 2022 list ranks the top 20 in terms of spending on healthcare per capita according to the OECD.
- United States
- Switzerland
- Germany
- Norway
- Austria
- Netherlands
- France
- Belgium
- Sweden
- Luxembourg
- Australia
- Canada
- Denmark
- New Zealand
- Ireland
- Finland
- United Kingdom
- Iceland
- Japan
- South Korea
U.S. Healthcare Spending
The situation was roughly the same five years before, in 2017. OECD data listed the U.S. as the country with the largest healthcare spending, sitting at $10,045 per capita. Compare this to Turkey, which spent $1,175 per capita on healthcare in 2017 and $1,827 in 2022—one of the lowest of any developed country.
Despite the U.S. government having the highest healthcare budget, much of the cost is not publicly financed but comes from personal expenditures and those related to private health insurance.
Countries such as Norway (which spends the fourth most) have socialized much of their medicine. With its surplus from oil derivatives, Norway finances the country's social medicine and expenditures through its Government Pension Fund (though more costs have shifted to private sources).
Still, Norway remains one of the healthiest nations despite spending a significant amount less than the U.S. does on healthcare ($7,771 per capita in 2022).
There is no denying that the U.S. spends more on healthcare by a wide margin. The size of this gap can be explained largely by the fragmented network of health insurance in the U.S. Multiple payment types and insurance companies exist, each offering different services.
This lack of federal oversight contrasts with that of other nations, whose governments impose oversight that, by setting benchmarks for pricing and services, establishes a national standard of care.
Rising Health Insurance Premiums
For most people, the rising cost of health insurance premiums lies at the center of concerns about rising healthcare costs. In 2023, average health insurance premiums for single coverage were $8,435 and $23,968 for family coverage.
Both of these average premiums increased by 7% in 2023. The average family premium increased by 22% since 2018 and 47% since 2013.
Government programs like Medicare and Medicaid have increased overall demand for medical services, resulting in higher prices.
In addition, increases in the incidence of chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease have had a direct impact on the increases in the cost of medical care. Chronic diseases account for 86% of the nation's healthcare costs. And one in five U.S. adults live with mental illness.
Higher insurance premiums are only part of the picture. Americans are paying more out-of-pocket than ever before. A shift to high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) that can impose out-of-pocket costs—including deductibles, copays, and coinsurance have average premiums of $22,404 for families for covered workers.
Dental care is the most commonly skipped medical treatment, followed by visiting a doctor.
Inefficiency and Lack of Transparency
Due to a lack of transparency and underlying inefficiency, it’s difficult to know the actual cost of healthcare. Most people know the cost of care is going up, but with few details and complicated hard to decipher invoices, it’s not easy to know what they are paying for.
Approximately 89% of consumers expressed a high willingness to shop around for care if given the option yet 61% of patients said they trust the cost estimates from payers more than health organizations (28% for hospitals). If hospitals don’t know the true cost of a procedure, patients may have difficulty shopping around, especially given how widely healthcare costs vary across U.S. metropolitan areas.
Patients Avoiding Care
Rising costs have created another casualty: People who skip medical care altogether. They do so not because they are afraid of doctors, but rather, because they're afraid of the bills that come with healthcare.
According to the Federal Reserve, approximately 27% of American adults didn't seek some form of medical treatment due to costs in 2023. This was particularly stark in income levels. Forty-two percent of people with a family income of less than 25,000 skipped treatment while only 12% did for families making $100,000 or more.
How Much Does U.S. Healthcare Cost?
U.S. healthcare spending was $4.5 trillion in 2022, increasing by 4.1% from the previous year. Health spending as a percent of GDP was 17.3%.
What Country Has the Most Expensive Healthcare?
The U.S. has the most expensive healthcare with a per-capita healthcare cost of $12,555 in 2022, compared to the second-highest, which is Switzerland, at $8,049.
How Do Americans Pay for Healthcare?
Most healthcare in the U.S. is provided by the private sector. Costs for U.S. healthcare consist of personal expenditures, private insurance, and public programs.
The Bottom Line
While the U.S. continues to spend more on healthcare costs per capita than any other country in the world, that healthcare is more costly for individuals than in many other places, such as Europe. Increasing healthcare costs make it difficult for some to seek care and many skip care altogether.
