Health Care Spending Paper
Health Care Spending Paper
Health Care Spending Paper
Health Care Spending The national health care spending in the United States has been growing faster than the national economy for many years, yet many United States citizens are without sufficient health care. Not only is it representing a challenge not only for the government’s two major health insurance programs (Medicare and Medicaid), but with the private sector insurance also. As health care spending rises for the nation’s economic production in the future, United States citizen may/will be faced with difficult choices between health care and other priorities to their everyday living. Nevertheless, an assortment of data suggests that opportunities exist to limit health care costs without unfavorable health consequences. More information on the following including, The level of current national health care expenditures; Whether the spending is too much or not enough; Where the nation should add or cut, and why; How the public’s health care needs are paid for, such as being financed by various payers, while indicating the percent of total expenditures they represent. According to "White House Washington" (2011), “Controlling health spending is significant for the economic health of the United States. For example, health care spending today consumes 30 percent more of state and local budgets than it did 20 years ago, forcing governments to choose between cutting services and raising taxes. The Council of Economic Advisors released a report on the impact of health care spending on the federal government. It found that if we do nothing by 2019, * Health care expenditures will be 21 percent of GDP—one fifth of our economic output. * Spending on Medicare and Medicaid will be 8 percent of GDP. * Nineteen percent of the non-elderly population, or 54 million Americans, will be uninsured. The cost of caring for the uninsured burdens all of us. Families with insurance pay a hidden tax of
Health Care Spending Paper
Health Care Spending The national health care spending in the United States has been growing faster than the national economy for many years, yet many United States citizens are without sufficient health care. Not only is it representing a challenge not only for the government’s two major health insurance programs (Medicare and Medicaid), but with the private sector insurance also. As health care spending rises for the nation’s economic production in the future, United States citizen may/will be faced with difficult choices between health care and other priorities to their everyday living. Nevertheless, an assortment of data suggests that opportunities exist to limit health care costs without unfavorable health consequences. More information on the following including, The level of current national health care expenditures; Whether the spending is too much or not enough; Where the nation should add or cut, and why; How the public’s health care needs are paid for, such as being financed by various payers, while indicating the percent of total expenditures they represent. According to "White House Washington" (2011), “Controlling health spending is significant for the economic health of the United States. For example, health care spending today consumes 30 percent more of state and local budgets than it did 20 years ago, forcing governments to choose between cutting services and raising taxes. The Council of Economic Advisors released a report on the impact of health care spending on the federal government. It found that if we do nothing by 2019, * Health care expenditures will be 21 percent of GDP—one fifth of our economic output. * Spending on Medicare and Medicaid will be 8 percent of GDP. * Nineteen percent of the non-elderly population, or 54 million Americans, will be uninsured. The cost of caring for the uninsured burdens all of us. Families with insurance pay a hidden tax of
References: Weisenthal, J. (2009). Wait, What If We 're Not Spending Enough On Healthcare?. Retrieved from http://articles.businessinsider.com/2009-08-28/news/30032094_1_healthcare- expenditure-health-insurance Whelan, D. (2011). We Probably Spend Too Little On Health Care (Unless You 're Peter Orszag). Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidwhelan/2011/02/13/we- probably-dont-spend-enough-on-our-health-unless-youre-peter-orszag/ White House Washington. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq