Health care spending by medical conditions, type of care and age in the United States and Switzerland

Stucki, Michael; Beauchamp, Meera; Wieser, Simon; Dieleman, Joseph

Publication type:	Conference other
Type of review:	Peer review (abstract)
Title:	Health care spending by medical conditions, type of care and age in the United States and Switzerland
Authors:	Stucki, Michael Beauchamp, Meera Wieser, Simon Dieleman, Joseph
et. al:	No
Conference details:	13th Annual Conference of the American Society of Health Economists, San Diego, CA, USA, 16 June – 19 June 2024
Issue Date:	19-Jun-2024
Language:	English
Subjects:	Gesundheitsökonomie; Schweiz; United States of America (USA)
Subject (DDC):	362.1041: Health economics
Abstract:	Background: The United States (US) and Switzerland top the list of countries with the highest per capita health care spending. Health care systems in both countries are characterized by a high degree of provider fragmentation, a multitude of payers and elements of free market competition. The main difference to the US system is the universal health coverage in Switzerland with a uniform and relatively generous basket of health services. A comparison of spending by medical conditions and other dimensions reveals potential future changes in US health care spending as coverage increases and population ages. Methods: This study compares health care spending by medical conditions, type of care, and age groups in the US and Switzerland. In both countries health care spending has been disaggregated into comprehensive and comparable disease classifications based on the Global Burden of Disease project in previous studies. The US study disaggregated personal health care spending in 2016 by 155 diseases, five types of care, and by age and sex. The Swiss study disaggregated total health care spending in 2017 by 48 conditions, 20 types of care, and by age and sex. We compare per capita spending by age groups, disease-specific spending as a proportion of total spending, spending per prevalent patient by disease, as well as the proportions of types of care and age groups in disease-specific spending. Results: Per capita health care spending in the working-age population was higher in the US than in Switzerland. Spending in the elderly was higher in Switzerland. US and Swiss health care spending by disease was surprisingly similar in 2016/2017 and dominated by chronic diseases in both countries. The six most expensive disease groups were the same in both countries, although the ranking differed slightly. Switzerland spent a higher share on mental disorders (14.5% vs. 7.0% in the US). Musculoskeletal disorders topped the list of the most expensive diseases in the US (14.7%), while it ranked second in Switzerland (14.2%). The US spent more on diabetes (4.3% vs. 1.3%). Spending per prevalent patient was very similar for cardiovascular, neurological, and digestive disorders, and much higher in Switzerland for mental disorders, oral disorders, and congenital birth defects. For many diseases, a higher proportion of disease-specific spending was spent on those aged 45-64 in the US compared to Switzerland. Discussion/Conclusion: Some of the differences in disease-specific spending between the two countries can be explained by differences in disease prevalence (e.g., diabetes), access to care (e.g., mental disorders) and differences in type of insurance coverage (e.g., Medicare coverage from the age of 65). Differences in total age-specific spending can be explained by higher life expectancy in Switzerland. Our results suggest that the US health care spending is likely to increase as the US population continues to age and if health insurance coverage is increased.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/31160
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	Licence according to publishing contract
Departement:	School of Management and Law
Organisational Unit:	Winterthur Institute of Health Economics (WIG)
Appears in collections:	Publikationen School of Management and Law

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Stucki, M., Beauchamp, M., Wieser, S., & Dieleman, J. (2024, June 19). Health care spending by medical conditions, type of care and age in the United States and Switzerland. 13th Annual Conference of the American Society of Health Economists, San Diego, CA, USA, 16 June – 19 June 2024.

Stucki, M. et al. (2024) ‘Health care spending by medical conditions, type of care and age in the United States and Switzerland’, in 13th Annual Conference of the American Society of Health Economists, San Diego, CA, USA, 16 June – 19 June 2024.

M. Stucki, M. Beauchamp, S. Wieser, and J. Dieleman, “Health care spending by medical conditions, type of care and age in the United States and Switzerland,” in 13th Annual Conference of the American Society of Health Economists, San Diego, CA, USA, 16 June – 19 June 2024, Jun. 2024.

STUCKI, Michael, Meera BEAUCHAMP, Simon WIESER und Joseph DIELEMAN, 2024. Health care spending by medical conditions, type of care and age in the United States and Switzerland. In: 13th Annual Conference of the American Society of Health Economists, San Diego, CA, USA, 16 June – 19 June 2024. Conference presentation. 19 Juni 2024

Stucki, Michael, Meera Beauchamp, Simon Wieser, and Joseph Dieleman. 2024. “Health Care Spending by Medical Conditions, Type of Care and Age in the United States and Switzerland.” Conference presentation. In 13th Annual Conference of the American Society of Health Economists, San Diego, CA, USA, 16 June – 19 June 2024.

Stucki, Michael, et al. “Health Care Spending by Medical Conditions, Type of Care and Age in the United States and Switzerland.” 13th Annual Conference of the American Society of Health Economists, San Diego, CA, USA, 16 June – 19 June 2024, 2024.