WASHINGTON — Reform of the U.S. healthcare system is vital this year because of growing costs and worsening care, the Health and Human Services Department said in a report on Monday. The HHS report, published at www.healthreform.gov, compiles findings of dozens of studies that have been used to justify calls for a complete overhaul of the healthcare system. While the need for change is not controversial, conservatives and liberals differ on how that should be approached. President Barack Obama has said he wants legislation this year but is leaving the details up to Congress to work out. ‘Today’s report outlines the high cost of waiting to fix a system that has left too many Americans without the affordable, quality care they deserve,’ HHS spokeswoman Jenny Backus said in a statement. The report points out that the United States spent $2.2 trillion on healthcare in 2007, or $7,421 per capita. Healthcare accounts for more than 16 percent of gross domestic product, nearly twice the average of other developed nations. Healthcare costs doubled from 1996 to 2006, and are projected to rise to 25 percent of GDP in 2025; 49 percent by 2082 if something does […]

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