This week the OECD released a report on “healthcare spending”.  The OECD (Office for Economic Cooperation and Development) is a recognized global organization helping governments around the world tackle the economic, social and governance challenges of a globalized economy.

Following are 2 charts that I thought you might find interesting.  One graph is from their report.  The other is from the Economist.

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Here are some important points contained in these charts:

1. Without exception, healthcare costs are going up everywhere. Average spending by each country increased from 7.3% of GDP in the 90’s to 8.3% in the 2000’s.  This was attributed to (1) technology changes, (2) population expectations, and (3) an aging population.

2. Total spending on healthcare is going up faster than economic growth in ALL OECD nations (31 countries worldwide inclusive of all the major countries around the world).

3. The speed at which it is going up has increased over the last two decades.

4. As you can see from most of the nations included in this chart, “public spending” on healthcare is a major part of all healthcare spending.  That means that governments control much of the spending decisions.  This can be problematic as governments around the world struggle to manage huge debt and economic decline.  This is a big problem where “public health” is a right for citizens of a country. 

5. It shows that healthcare costs continue to be a major (and increasing) cost to GDP of all countries.  This means that healthcare has a major economic impact on societies around the world.  The healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP has increased from 12% in the early 90’s to over 16% in 2008 (a new record for healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP).

6. Between 2000-2008 healthcare spending by individuals increased by 4.2% a year on average.  That means that healthcare costs are increasing faster than inflation. 

7. In the US, the average person spent $7,538 on healthcare in 2008.  That is more than DOUBLE the $3,000 average of all OECD nations. 

What Does All This Mean To You?

In my opinion, this is just more data to support that we have a global economic and social problem related to broken healthcare systems.  While some are more broken than others, it doesn’t change the fact that governments around the world are going to make significant changes because the economics of healthcare will destroy the global economy.  Much of this change is focused in 2 directions – better management of healthcare spending and movement toward prevention.  While both of these areas will make a difference, it will not change the reality for all of us.  Systems will change and we will suffer the impact of those changes.  In the end, we will all pay more to fix this problem whether it is through paying more on healthcare spending, taxes, or fees.

This is an important time to take a more proactive posture in managing your healthcare spending and health decisions (eating better, exercising, etc.).  Equally, this is more support that the Prevention and Wellness industry will continue to be in a long-term uptrend because they are a critical part of what is necessary to correct healthcare around the world.  If you are looking for a good industry to be a part of in the future, Wellness and Prevention will continue to grow regardless of the economic trends.

Check out my article that was recently published in the September issue of Direct Selling News…

Click here to read this article now

In this article I talk about how to thrive during an economic winter, and I give some strategies on how to build and grow momentum during these economic times.