It appears from my quick research that our cost per capita was on pace with the rest of the world until about 1980. What accounts for the per capita increase in healthcare costs relative to the rest of the world? To stay within the limits of the sub...why did per capita healthcare spending increase so much between 1980 and 1997? http://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/snapshots-health-care-spending-in-the-united-states-selected-oecd-countries/