There is one thing that almost every American citizen can agree on and that is that healthcare costs too much and delivers too little in the U.S. That is also the conclusion of the Business Roundtable, which represents CEOs of major U.S. companies. A report from the group says America’s health care system has become a liability in a global economy. Concern about high U.S. costs has existed for years, and business executives – whose companies provide health coverage for workers – have long called for getting costs under control.

Now President Obama recognizes that the costs have become “unsustainable” and that the “system must be overhauled.” Americans spend $2.4 trillion a year on healthcare. The Business Roundtable report says Americans in 2006 spent $1,928 per capita on health care, at least two-and-a-half times more per person than any other advanced country. The report referred to above notes that higher U.S. spending funnels away resources that could be invested elsewhere in the economy, but fails to deliver a healthier work force. The bottom line is that Americans are not getting higher levels of health and quality of care in spite of the excessively high costs. Other countries spend less on health care and their workers are relatively healthier, the report said. Clearly, healthcare must be made available for all Americans, but at a reasonable cost. This is the challenge facing the Obama Administration and Congress.

Source: Associated Press