The problem with studies like this is that they pick a single issue within healthcare and try to make a broad assessment from it. There have been other studies

The problem with studies like this is that they pick a single issue within healthcare and try to make a broad assessment from it. There have been other studies that break down the overall costs of health car in the US that are more informative. It's four years old, but this McKinsey study is a good example: http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/MGI/Research/Americas/Accounting_for_the_cost_of_US_health_care http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/MGI/Research/Americas/Accou... The Interactive Flash slide show is interesting as well (where "interactive" is defined as clicking forward and back buttons, I guess).