By Jonathan Herrick
Health care in the United States is a complex and expensive industry, and consumers who contribute financially to the industry presumably hope to derive some value or benefit from their participation. However, many consumers may not perceive a proportionate relationship between financial contribution and the value or benefit they receive. For example, “[m]ost Americans do not believe that price and quality of health care are associated” with each other. It is no wonder that Americans today have doubts about whether the amount they spend on health care is associated with the quality of care they receive; despite spending a larger portion per capita on health care services than many other industrialized nations, the United States lags behind in important measures, such as life expectancy. Although the relationship between health care services and life expectancy is complex, it is clear that the United States is spending more per person on health care than many other countries, but consumers are not benefitting proportionately with regard to certain measured health outcomes.