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9 mind-blowing facts about the dysfunction of the American health-care system

It might not be a surprise that the American health-care system is broken, but some of the reasons why certainly are. The 90 second video above is a tour through the dysfunction, but let's break out some of the important points here, too.

America spends a lot. A whole lot.

spending

The United States of Health Care would be a huge country.

Only the US itself, China, Japan, and Germany are larger in terms of raw GDP.

united states of health care

Really meditate on this: of every six dollars spent in the US economy, one goes to health care.

oneInsix

That health care doesn't always help. Medical errors kill huge numbers of patients. It's like 10 jumbo jets crashing every week.

medical errors

The US just pays a lot more for everything.

Even when it's the exact same thing.

nexium

A lot of the money the US spends goes to stuff that doesn't seem to help anyone.

health waste

That's a lot of waste. Where does it all go?

health waste breakdown

The US spends so, so, so much on medical paperwork.

admin Sports

Even after Obamacare is implemented, millions of Americans still won't have health insurance.

uninsured gif

For lots more information and all of our sources, see Sarah Kliff's great article here. She also wrote cardstacks going deeper into health-care spending and insane health-care prices.

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