US health care costs are high relative to other OECD countries but average US life expectancy (78.7 years) in 2010 is below the OECD average of 79.8 years. These two OECD charts sum up the problem:
Germany (DEU) is lowest for most procedures — in many cases less than half — and the quality of the treatment is excellent.
via Health Costs: How the U.S. Compares With Other Countries | PBS NewsHour.
Jessica Irvine writes that Australia is faced with an aging population and spiraling health costs, but a free-spending government will leave us unprepared.
Two veteran Budget forecasting groups, Deloitte Access Economics and Macroeconomics, have in recent days delivered their verdict on Mr Swan’s mid-year Budget update: It’s codswallop. The Federal Budget is not in surplus by $1.1 billion this year but in deficit by $4.2 billion, according to Deloitte, and $7 billion, according to Macroeconomics…..
via We're afflicted with the same fiscal flab most governments struggle with | thetelegraph.com.au.
