Think your medical costs are too high? Well, you're right. According to a study published in Health Affairs, Americans pay nearly double in healthcare costs compared to similar costs faced by people in other industrialized nations.
   
The research finds that in 2002 Americans were spending $5,267 per capita on healthcare costs - which is 53 percent more than citizens in comparable countries. The causes, authors Gerald Anderson and Hugh Watson contend, are higher salaries and the overall generally inflated cost of medical services in the U.S.
   
"There is a popular misconception that we pay much more for healthcare in the United States compared to European and other industrialized countries because malpractice claims drive up costs and there are waiting lists in most other countries," says Anderson, study co-author. "But what we found is that we pay more for healthcare for the simple reason that prices for health services are significantly higher."
   
The full study is available at: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/24/4/903?etoc