Who spends the most per capita on healthcare?

Editorial team Published on

The United States spends the most on healthcare per capita of any nation in the world.

Spending Breakdown

  • United States: Spends approximately $14,885 per person on healthcare.
  • Switzerland: Ranks second, spending about $9,963 per person.
  • Germany: Ranks third, spending around $9,365 per person.
  • Peer Country Average: Other wealthy peer nations average about $7,371 per person.

Key Facts

  • The Gap: The U.S. spends more than double the average of other wealthy developed countries.
  • Main Drivers: Higher costs for prescription drugs, specialized labor, administrative overhead, and inpatient/outpatient care drive the high spending rather than higher utilization rates.
  • You can explore the detailed data further through the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.

Did healthcare get more expensive under Trump?

Healthcare costs and insurance premiums have increased under President Trump, driven by federal budget legislation, expired subsidies, and general market inflation.

Rising Costs and Policy Impacts

  • Budget Cuts: According to reports by Families USA, a federal budget bill cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid and restricted eligibility, which increased the uninsured rate and shifted uncompensated care costs.
  • Expired Subsidies: Enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits expired without a congressional extension, causing net marketplace premiums to spike for many consumers.
  • Family Expenses: The Center for American Progress states that administration policies, higher deductibles, and tariff impacts have added financial pressure to household healthcare budgets.

Administration Actions on Transparency

  • Price Transparency: According to PBS News, the Trump administration has warned hundreds of hospitals to disclose pricing data or face fines, aiming to use market competition to lower costs over time.
  • Affordability Proposals: The White House introduced the "Great Healthcare Plan" framework to target pharmacy benefit managers, expand over-the-counter drug options, and promote lower prescription pricing.

Which states in the U.S. spend the most on healthcare per capita?

North Carolina, South Dakota, Alaska, and Massachusetts rank among the U.S. states with the highest overall healthcare costs, depending on whether you measure by insurance premiums, out-of-pocket burdens, or per capita spending.

Highest Cost Breakdown

  • Consumer Premiums and Deductibles: According to Forbes Advisor, North Carolina is the most expensive state for healthcare consumers, followed closely by South Dakota, Nebraska, Florida, and Texas.
  • Per Capita Spending: States like New York, Alaska, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia record the highest personal health care spending per resident, averaging well above $13,000 per person annually (compared to a national average around $10,191).
  • Income Burden: Residents in West Virginia, Alaska, and Oregon spend the highest percentage of their monthly household income on medical care and insurance premiums.

Main Cost Drivers

  • Regional Pricing: Northeastern and high-cost-of-living states feature expensive operating costs, advanced medical technologies, and dense networks of specialized hospitals.
  • Geography and Demographics: Rural states like Alaska and South Dakota face high expenses due to limited provider competition and long travel distances for routine or emergency care.
  • Mandates and Regulations: Comprehensive state-level insurance mandates can increase average premium pricing.

To find official state health expenditure data and comparisons, you can consult the KFF State Health Facts.

What is the #1 country for healthcare?

Taiwan ranks as the #1 country in the world for healthcare, according to the mid-year Health Care Index rankings, scoring an impressive 87.1 out of 100.

Because different organizations use different methods to measure health outcomes, access, and infrastructure, the top spot often changes depending on the index:

Top Countries by Different Indexes

  • Numbeo Health Care Index: Taiwan takes first place, followed closely by South Korea and the Netherlands. These nations score high due to advanced medical technology, short wait times, and efficient universal coverage.
  • U.S. News & World Report Best Countries (Health Subranking): Iceland ranks #1, with Norway and Denmark taking second and third place. Nordic countries frequently top quality-of-life and health metrics due to strong public funding and preventative care.
  • The Commonwealth Fund: Australia ranked #1 among high-income peers for healthcare outcomes and equity, aided by its universal Medicare system.
  • CEOWORLD Magazine: South Korea and Italy have both claimed the top spot in recent years for overall infrastructure, medical professional readiness, and quality of care.

Why Taiwan Ranks #1

  • National Health Insurance (NHI): Taiwan operates a single-payer compulsory universal health insurance system that provides near-total population coverage.
  • Low Wait Times & Access: Patients enjoy rapid access to specialists and hospitals without needing complex gatekeeping or facing long delays.
  • Technology & Efficiency: The system heavily integrates smart card technology and digital health records, keeping administrative costs low while maintaining high treatment efficacy.

Which country spends the most money on healthcare in the world?

The United States spends the most money on healthcare in the world by a wide margin.

Spending Details

  • Per Person: The U.S. spends over $14,700 per person each year on healthcare.
  • Global Comparison: This amount is nearly double what other wealthy nations spend, and about 2.5 times the average of other OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries.
  • Share of Economy: Healthcare accounts for roughly 17% of the total U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
  • Next Highest: Countries like Switzerland and Germany follow as the next highest spenders, but their costs are significantly lower per capita.

Healthcare Cost Race: Who Spends the Most Per Person? 2000-2023

9 related questions found

Why is American healthcare so ridiculously expensive?

American healthcare is extremely expensive primarily because of higher prices for services, drugs, and procedures rather than people using more care than other countries.

High Prices and Monopolies

  • Higher Unit Costs: Surgeries, routine visits, and prescription drugs cost double or multiple times more in the U.S. than in other wealthy nations.
  • Hospital Consolidation: Mergers allow large hospital systems to buy out competitors and gain market power, letting them charge higher prices with little competition.
  • No Central Price Controls: Unlike other developed countries where the government negotiates or caps prices, the U.S. lets individual providers and private companies set their own rates.

Administrative Complexity

  • Fragmented Insurance: The system uses hundreds of private and public insurance plans, each with different rules, coding requirements, and payment structures.
  • High Overhead: Doctors and hospitals spend massive amounts of time and money just processing billing and paperwork, adding over $1,000 per person in administrative waste.

Misaligned Market Incentives

  • Third-Party Payers: Because insurance or the government covers most of the bill, the person receiving care rarely sees the true price upfront, which removes normal market pressure to keep costs down.
  • Higher Salaries: Medical professionals and specialists in the U.S. earn significantly higher salaries than their peers abroad, driven partly by high medical education costs and supply limits.

What race is the most uninsured?

American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) and Hispanic people have the highest uninsured rates in the United States.

According to data from KFF, the uninsured rates for people under age 65 break down as follows:

  • American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN): 18.9%
  • Hispanic: 18.4%
  • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI): 12.3%
  • Black: 10.1%
  • White: 6.8%
  • Asian: 5.7%

Why do Republicans oppose free healthcare?

Republicans generally oppose government-run or universal "free" healthcare because they favor free-market competition, lower taxes, and a limited role for the federal government.

According to policy analyses published on platforms like the National Institutes of Health, conservative opposition is driven by specific economic and philosophical beliefs.

Free-Market Beliefs

  • Market Competition: Republicans argue that private companies and market competition provide the best medical care. They believe private choices keep quality high.
  • Avoiding Market Distortions: Conservative lawmakers, such as past statements noted by public policy groups, argue that direct government involvement distorts prices and harms the medical system.

Economic Concerns

  • Higher Taxes: Universal healthcare requires massive public funding. Republicans oppose the increased income or payroll taxes needed to pay for a government-run system.
  • National Debt: Conservatives argue that adding a large entitlement program increases government spending and national debt.

Distrust of Government Control

  • Bureaucracy: Public opinion data from sources like Pew Research Center shows a deep partisan divide, with most Republicans saying the federal government is not responsible for ensuring health coverage.
  • Reduced Choice: Many conservatives worry that a single government system leads to reduced medical choices, bureaucracy, and potential care rationing.
  • Individual Mandates: Laws that force citizens to buy insurance or participate in government-backed plans are viewed by the party as a violation of personal freedom.

Which state is ranked lowest in healthcare?

Alaska and Mississippi are most frequently ranked as the lowest overall states for healthcare in recent major analyses.

Lowest-Ranked States

Recent reports from national health organizations place several states at the very bottom based on cost, access, and health outcomes:

  • Alaska: Ranked as the overall worst state (#51 including D.C.) by WalletHub's Healthcare Analysis, primarily driven by some of the highest monthly insurance premiums in the country.
  • Mississippi: Frequently placed at or near the bottom (50th among states) due to the nation's highest infant mortality rate, low physician-per-capita counts, and poor overall health outcomes.
  • Georgia, Texas, and West Virginia: Consistently round out the bottom five in multiple studies due to high uninsured rates (particularly in Texas), care avoidance over costs, and limited rural healthcare access.

Key Factors in Low-Ranked States

  • Healthcare Access: Shortages of primary care physicians, dentists, and hospital beds per capita.
  • Cost and Coverage: High insurance premiums or large populations avoiding medical visits due to high deductibles and uninsured rates.
  • Health Outcomes: Higher rates of chronic conditions like heart disease, stroke, and high infant mortality.

What country has better healthcare than the US?

Many countries, including Taiwan, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, offer more accessible, affordable, and higher-performing healthcare systems than the United States.

Most users on Reddit agree that peer nations provide better public health outcomes and financial protection than the U.S. system. You can review detailed metrics through the 2026 Best Healthcare Systems: Global Health Rankings.

Top-Performing Countries

  • Taiwan: Features a universal single-payer system with very short wait times, state-of-the-art care, and extremely low out-of-pocket costs.
  • Switzerland: Requires mandatory private insurance with strict out-of-pocket caps, no network restrictions, and high life expectancy.
  • The Netherlands: Combines universal coverage with regulated private insurance, low maternal mortality, and high patient safety.
  • South Korea: Offers a national universal health system with efficient access, advanced technology, and low costs.
  • Japan: Bans insurance profit, caps doctor fees, and achieves the highest life expectancy in the world with low infant mortality.

Why These Systems Outperform the U.S.

  • Universal Coverage: Every citizen gets guaranteed health coverage, unlike the fragmented U.S. market.
  • Lower Costs: The U.S. spends over 17% of its GDP on healthcare—double the cost of many peer nations—while achieving lower life expectancies.
  • Preventive Care: Other wealthy nations focus on regular checkups and early disease prevention rather than expensive, cure-focused treatments.
  • No Medical Bankruptcy: Strict out-of-pocket maximums protect families from massive medical debt.