U.S. patients pay nearly $500 for outpatient hospital visits, more than patients in any other country, according to an Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation study.
IHME gathered outpatient utilization data from 130 countries and inpatient utilization data from 128 countries and estimated expenditure based on data from 795 National Health Accounts.
Here are five findings:
1. The average outpatient visit in the U.S. cost nearly $500 in 2016. Inpatient stays cost more than $22,000 on average.
2. In both categories, the U.S. had higher total healthcare costs than any other country.
3. Between 1990 and 2016, global outpatient visits increased by more than 50 percent and inpatient admissions increased by more than two-thirds.
4. It would cost an estimated $576 billion to implement universal healthcare for all nations.
5. Universal Healthcare would require a 49 percent increase in admissions and a 27 percent increase in outpatient visits, the study found.
"To achieve UHC, health officials in the government, private and nonprofit sectors need to expand services to accommodate population growth and aging, as well as expand insurance coverage," said IHME's Marcia R. Weaver. "Not surprisingly, we found both overutilization and underutilization of services among inpatient and outpatient facilities. More importantly, we identified countries like the Netherlands, Portugal and Thailand that have the right amount of each."