No country in the world spends more on health care than the United States, or has less to show for it when compared to other wealthy nations. The U.S. spends nearly 50 percent more per capita than Switzerland, the second biggest spender among wealthy nations, but consistently ranks near the bottom on measures of population wellness and life expectancy. Is there a better system, and if so, what should it look like? What role does wasteful spending play in this equation? How much is attributable to administrative costs? In this episode, Eckstein professor of applied economics David Cutler considers these questions as we discuss the high price of American medicine.

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For a transcript of this episode, go to https://harvardmagazine.com/podcast/2020/david-cutler

Ask a Harvard Professor is hosted by Jonathan Shaw and Marina Bolotnikova, and produced by Jacob Sweet. Our theme music was composed by Louis Weeks.