Health, Investment in

Health care expenditure as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States exceeds the expenditure of other developed countries like the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, and Canada. However, the U.S. health care system produces less health, measured by average life expectancy and the child mortality rate, than those countries. In addition to its inefficiency (about 46 million uninsured in [Page 730]mid-2014), the United States health care system is responsible for a majority of bankruptcies in the United States because of patients’ extremely high medical bills and inadequate health coverage. Furthermore, many U.S. residents cannot afford to buy medical insurance because of the high cost of coverage. A lack of insurance coverage and access to preventive care leads to the crowding of ...