US and Other High-Income Countries’ Spending on Health and Social Services

What connection exists, if any, between health care and social spending, especially in high-income nations? A recent study, published by Health Affairs ahead of print, examined data on 35 OECD member states from 1980 to 2015 obtained from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in order to address three questions: How much is spent on social programs in the US compared to other OECD nations? Do nations with lower social service spending also have higher health care spending? Is there any proof that rising social spending over time correlates with falling health care costs?