A new report from the International Federation of Health Plans compares health care costs among countries; to no surprise, health costs within the U.S. exceed all other countries for 22 of the 23 services included in the survey. For example, the cost of Nexium® in the U.S. is $193, while it is $69 in Switzerland, $23 in France, and $3 in India.

American friends, you’ll likely be sickened as you take a peek at the average cost of a physician appointment in the U.S. versus other countries (page 17). I hope your ill feelings recover quickly, as the cost per day of a hospital stay in the U.S. is $3,949 compared to Chile – $1,552, Australia – $934, Switzerland – $690, France – $655, Germany – $632, Spain – $515, Argentina – $380, and India – $236.

There’s no denying our health care system needs a major change.