By Dr. Stuart H. Garber, DC, PhD
At a glance:
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The U.S. spends about 18% of GDP on healthcare, nearly twice as much as other developed nations.
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Life expectancy here is well below other high-income countries, while maternal mortality is higher, with persistent racial disparities.
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Medical debt affects nearly half of U.S. adults, with many delaying or skipping care due to cost.
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Use of complementary and integrative care is steadily rising as evidence of safety and effectiveness grows.
The U.S. Healthcare Paradox: High Spending, Lagging Outcomes
Healthcare in America has become a paradox. We spend more than any other country, yet when it comes to actual outcomes—like life expectancy and chronic disease rates—the data tells a sobering story. Let’s unpack what’s happening and why it matters for the average American family.
1) We Spend More Than Anyone
National health spending grew about 8.2% in 2024, reaching $5.3 trillion which equates to 18% of GDP, or $16,570 per person. That’s about double the average of other developed nations, both per capita and as a share of the economy¹,²,³.
👉 For families, that means higher insurance premiums, surprise bills, and difficult choices about whether to seek care at all.
2) Outcomes: Slowly Improving, Still Lagging
U.S. life expectancy rose back to 78.7 years in 2024, recovering from pandemic lows but still ranking only 34th worldwide³,².
Maternal mortality, though improving, remains elevated compared to peer nations, and racial disparities persist⁴.
👉 In everyday terms: Americans pay more, yet often live shorter and less healthy lives.
3) Affordability: Fixes Still Elusive
About 41% of adults report medical or dental debt⁵. Depending on the survey, 25–36% of adults delayed or skipped care due to cost in the past year⁶. Nearly 30 million remain uninsured³.
👉 For families, this means delayed care, growing debt, or treatment being out of reach.
4) Capacity & Inefficiency
The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a physician shortfall of up to 86,000 by 2036, especially in primary care and underserved regions⁷.
Administrative hurdles—especially prior insurance authorization—are widely cited by physicians for delays and worse outcomes. In 2024, 93–94% of doctors reported delays or negative impacts, and about one in three reported a serious adverse event linked to prior authorization⁸.
👉 For patients, this translates to longer waits, fewer available doctors, and treatments slowed down by red tape instead of medical urgency.
5) Integrative/Complementary Care Keeps Rising
Use of complementary and integrative approaches (yoga, meditation, homeopathy, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture) has grown significantly over the last two decades, particularly for pain and stress⁹,¹⁰. Insurance coverage and clinical guidance are also expanding, driving wider adoption¹⁰.
👉 More families are looking outside the allopathic (conventional) system, choosing care that feels more personal, preventive, and empowering.
The Bigger Picture: Why "Sickcare" is the Better Term
High costs, poor outcomes, and access gaps are all reasons why allopathic medicine feels more like sickcare. Instead of focusing on prevention and root causes, the system largely treats illness after it develops, and profits from it.
The leading causes of death—heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes—all have strong lifestyle connections¹³,¹⁴. Yet prevention still gets only a fraction of funding.
👉 For the average American, this means the system is reactive rather than proactive, waiting until you’re sick instead of focusing on keeping you well.
A Shift Toward Integrative Wellness
Holistic, Preventive, and Personalized
About 6 in 10 U.S. adults live with at least one chronic condition¹¹. Patients want simpler, whole-person strategies that focus on prevention and root causes.
Mind–body and manual therapies (yoga, meditation, chiropractic, massage) show strong real-world uptake and evidence, especially for musculoskeletal pain and stress. Patients often report better function and relief without relying on multiple medications⁹,¹⁰.
Frustration With “Sickcare”
When conventional care feels rushed, costly, or fragmented, people turn to longer visits, relationship-based care, and multi-modal approaches that align with their values—nutrition, sleep, movement, stress resilience, and safe, targeted therapies⁴.
Holistic and integrative approaches emphasize prevention and lifestyle. These models don’t just treat disease; they aim to keep people healthy in the first place.
Evidence is clear: diets rich in whole foods, regular movement, stress management, and toxin reduction can lower the risk of chronic disease¹³,¹⁴. That’s why more people are turning to integrative care, complementary medicine, and functional health coaching.
What Integrative Medicine Is (and Isn’t)
Integrative medicine blends evidence-supported conventional therapies with complementary approaches like nutrition, mind–body practices, manual therapies, and other non-pharmacological strategies. It is not anti-medicine, nor a replacement for emergency or essential treatments. Instead, it complements them by addressing root causes, lifestyle, and systems biology, while coordinating care across disciplines⁴,¹⁰.
Bottom Line
The U.S. healthcare system is expensive, difficult to navigate, and uneven in outcomes. Integrative medicine isn’t a quick fix, but it offers a patient-centered, evidence-based model that fills real gaps in conventional care.
If high costs, poor outcomes, and access barriers have you feeling stuck in a “sickcare” loop, an integrative, homeopathy-informed approach, backed by lifestyle medicine and targeted support, can help restore balance while still using conventional care when needed.
If you’re managing pain, stress, sleep issues, gut problems, allergies, or hormonal and metabolic concerns and want a gentler, systems-based plan, learn more about Dr. Garber’s Bioformulas. They’re designed for you, your family, and even your pets.
If you’d like help building a coordinated path that respects your biology, your time, and your wellness goals, feel free to email us: office@drgarbers.com.
References
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Actuary. (2025). National Health Expenditure Projections 2024–2033. Health Affairs. https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2025.00545
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CMS. (2024). CMS NHE Projections: 2024–2033 (Slide deck). https://www.cms.gov/files/document/national-health-expenditure-projections-results-presentation.pdf
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Peter G. Peterson Foundation. (2025, August 11). Chart Pack: U.S. Healthcare Spending—per-capita and GDP share comparisons; life expectancy context. https://www.pgpf.org/article/chart-pack-healthcare/
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The Commonwealth Fund. (2024, September). Mirror, Mirror 2024: International Comparisons—U.S. outcomes, equity, cost-related access problems, and maternal health context. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2024/sep/mirror-mirror-2024
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Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). (2022). Health Care Debt in the U.S. https://www.kff.org/medicaid/what-does-the-federal-government-spend-on-health-care/
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USAFacts. (2024, October 14). How many people skip medical treatment due to healthcare costs? https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-people-skip-medical-treatment-due-to-healthcare-costs/
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Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). (2024). Physician Workforce Projections. https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/workforce/interactive-data/2024-physician-workforce-projections
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American Medical Association (AMA). (2024). Prior Authorization Physician Survey. https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/payment-delivery-models/2024-prior-authorization-physician-survey
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National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)/NIH. (2022). National Health Interview Survey 2022: 20-year trends in complementary health use. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/research/national-health-interview-survey-2022/graph-titled-use-of-complementary-health-approaches-20-year-trends
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JAMA. (2024). Use of Complementary Health Approaches in the U.S. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2814472
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2024, May 15). Living with a Chronic Condition. https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-disease/living-with/index.html
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National Academies Press. (2021). High and Rising Mortality Rates Among Working-Age Adults. NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK571929/#:~:text=2U.S.%20Mortality%20in%20an,to%20understand%20its%20contributing%20factors
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Logan University. (n.d.). The impact of diets on chronic diseases. https://www.logan.edu/the-impact-of-diets-on-chronic-diseases/
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Harvard Gazette. (2020, January 15). 5 healthy habits may offer years free of chronic diseases. Harvard University. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/01/5-healthy-habits-may-offer-years-free-of-chronic-diseases/
