[DanBC]

The UK has healthcare free at the point of delivery. The UK government spends considerably less per capita on healthcare than the US governemnt.

"Free" healthcare is cheaper to provide than non-free.

[cthalupa]

This isn't the whole story, though. Part of the reasons US healthcare costs are so high is that the majority of all medical research is done in the US.

America needs to do a hell of a lot better on this front - universal healthcare should be a basic human right! - but it doesn't immediately solve the issue.