January 16, 2018
That is a fairly important point that somehow was missing from an NYT article telling readers that the UK’s National Health System (NHS) is in crisis. The Conservative government has cut back spending on NHS from levels that were already very low by international standards. According to the OECD, the UK spends a bit more than 40 percent as much per person as the United States.
In purchasing power parity terms, the UK spent $4,200 per person in 2016. This compares to $9,900 per person in the United States. If the UK increased its spending by 20 percent, it would still be spending just over half as much per person as the United States. The enormous disparity in spending is an important fact that should be included in any serious discussion of the quality of care in the UK system.
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