It is well known that the USA spends more of its national wealth on healthcare than other countries (see, for example, some of the analysis in this question: Is more than 30% of US healthcare spending waste?).
But this extraordinary claim appeared in a recently reprinted article in the Washington Post (which I quote with some context and my emphasis):
There is a simple reason health care in the United States costs more than it does anywhere else: The prices are higher.
That may sound obvious. But it is, in fact, key to understanding one of the most pressing problems facing our economy. In 2009, Americans spent $7,960 per person on health care. Our neighbors in Canada spent $4,808. The Germans spent $4,218. The French, $3,978. If we had the per-person costs of any of those countries, America’s deficits would vanish. Workers would have much more money in their pockets. Our economy would grow more quickly, as our exports would be more competitive.
There are two claims here: one is that the primary reason the US spends so much is the prices of healthcare activities, drugs and devices. I'm actually skeptical of this as the sole cause, but it probably deserves a separate question. The second claim, and the focus of this question, is that if US prices were more normal by world standards, the US government deficit would disappear.
So, is it true that the deficit would be gone if the US had more typical healthcare prices?