There's some data in http://wikileaks.org/leak/crs/RL34175.pdf http://wikileaks.org/leak/crs/RL34175.pdf (Congressional Research Service RL34175): "Figure 15. P

There's some data in http://wikileaks.org/leak/crs/RL34175.pdf http://wikileaks.org/leak/crs/RL34175.pdf (Congressional Research Service RL34175): "Figure 15. Practicing Physicians per 1,000 Population, 2004". But I don't think this metric alone can explain cost differences. For example, the average of the countries sampled is 3.0, with western Europe in the 3.3-4.2 range. The United States comes in at 2.4 - but tied with Finland and above New Zealand (2.2), Canada (2.1), and Japan (2.0). Also, figure 14 shows that the Netherlands (3.6 practicing physicians per 1000) pays its specialists even more than the United States does. At the same time (2004) the Netherlands spent about $3000 per capita, while the US spent $6100 (table 1). The best story is told in table 4 (CRS-28). Of the $3500 per capita difference between the US and OECD median, the largest single delta is labeled "outpatient care" ($1941). Next are "inpatient care" at $575; "health administration and insurance" at $400; "pharmaceuticals" at $345. I find the administration costs shocking: we spend about 8% of our health care budget on administration, while the OECD median is closer to 2%. This seems to come directly from a heterogeneous mix of private and public spending: according to the CRS Luxembourg has similar spending and a similar mix of health care plans. But this is a very complex subject. The cost differences are likely attributable to a number of causes, from malpractice suits driving extra tests to weak market forces between insurers and providers (and between providers and consumers). The US may also be paying for overcapacity in order to reduce wait times for procedures. I see two alternatives: either find a way to strengthen the market forces and improve the legal framework so that the market can control its own costs (no existing example); or convert to a single-payer system (eg, NHS in the UK) so that the single payer can control costs.