Why Health Care Is Unaffordable for Many Americans

The United States spends 18 percent of its GDP on health care — more than any other high-income country — yet Americans are far more likely to die from preventable causes. Join Utibe Essien, Assistant Professor of Medicine at UCLA, and a health disparities researcher at the VA Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation, and Policy, as he explores the mismatch between the nation’s high health care spending and its poor health outcomes.

The U.S. is the only wealthy nation lacking universal health coverage. Many Americans rely on expensive private insurance that often come with high out-of-pocket costs. Moreover, limited government regulation and oversight in the private sector mean that prices for health services and medicines are much higher: an MRI in the U.S. typically costs 420 percent more than one in Australia.

Learn more about these barriers to care, as well as strategies to bring health care within reach for every American.