Health spending: The cost of good health | The Economist

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From Economist.com
Where health-care spending is heaviest

HEALTH-CARE spending will consume 15.5% of the GDP in North America this year, the largest share of six regions worldwide. Record levels of public debt in America will limit the scope of health-care reforms set for 2010. Meanwhile, global life expectancy will reach 72.5 years, bringing the number of people aged 65 and over to 523m, or 7.6% of the population. This will reduce the amount of tax available to fund health-care systems everywhere, prompting governments and insurers to focus on public health, preventive care and other money-saving measures.

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