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Although the US health care system has experienced financial success, an analysis identifying trends in economics, costs and value from 1980 to 2011 reveals that the health care system has underperformed in certain areas, compared with similar countries.

And though the report highlights some improvements in outcomes, the pace of progress is much slower than in past decades.

The analysis was undertaken by Dr. Hamilton Moses III, of the Alerion Institute and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, along with colleagues from The Boston Consulting Group and the University of Rochester. Results of the analysis were recently published in JAMA.

The team used publicly available data to analyze the economics of health care, the profile of people who receive care, organizations that provide care, and objective health outcomes and perceptions of care quality.

On the economic front, the investigators found that government funding toward health care increased from 31% in 1980 to 42% in 2011, however, costs have tripled over the past 20 years.

Even though resources devoted to health care have increased, the team found that in several health metrics, including life expectancy at birth and disease survival, the US is behind other comparable countries.

Since 2000, the team found that the price of professional services, drugs, devices and administrative costs - not service demand or an aging population - was responsible for 91% of the cost increases.

Additionally, chronic illnesses were responsible for 84% of overall costs in the entire population, not only in the elderly, the investigators note.

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US health care analysis: 'national conversation needed'