U.S. health care spending (both public and private) is projected to reach one-fifth of the economy by 2033. Health care costs have increased steadily to account for 17.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023—up from 7.2% in 1973 and up 13.3% since 2000, according to the data reported in the recent Peter G. Peterson Foundation Chart Pack: Healthcare.

Per capita health care spending in the U.S. is $14,885, compared to a world average of $7,371. The next five most expensive countries in per capita spending are Switzerland ($9,963), Germany ($9,365), the Netherlands ($8,436), Sweden ($7,871), and Ireland ($7,813), followed by Belgium ($7,750) and Australia ($7,469).

Not surprisingly given that forecast, health care spending had grown faster than the…