Essay on The Underlying Dynamics of Health Care Spending

There have been many studies performed focusing on the rising costs of health care and some of the findings state that the rising cost of healthcare premiums is a worldwide problem. However, I believe they are higher in the U.S. In 2015, U.S. health care costs were $3.2 trillion. That makes healthcare one of the largest U.S. industries, equaling 17.8 % of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in comparison to the late 1960s; where healthcare costs were only $27 billion, or 5% of the GDP, which averaged $9,990 per person each year. The main reason for the rising cost of healthcare is a combination of government policies and lifestyles changes. Examples included lack of coverage or costly coverage, lack of available coverage for

The depression in the 1930’s brought about the Social Security Act. This, however, omitted health insurance. Blue Cross also started offering people hospital care insurance in several states.

One of the issues is the increasing cost of healthcare which is dominating the health policy in U.S. this is accompanied by an increase in spending on healthcare. According to projections by the government, the spending on medical care will continue to rise. U.S spends more money on health care than any other nation globally (Holtz, 2013). The increase in the spending is as a result of improved tools for disease diagnosis, better surgical interventions among others. This raises an issue for the policy makers on the maximum GDP percentage that a country has to spend on healthcare, and whether the nation will afford the cost that is continually growing. In contemplating any change in the health policy, policy makers should consider the cost of the healthcare and the ability of the nation to support that high cost.

There are many problems with healthcare in America today. One of them including the astronomical cost. According to CDC.ORG in 2007 the average person spends seven thousand four hundred dollars per year on health care alone. This rise in healthcare is extremely detrimental for families, seniors, and people of all ages. With such a high cost of insurance people are forced to make hard choices in

The purpose of this paper is to review and discuss the current level of national healthcare expenditures and to determine if we as Americans are spending too much on healthcare. The author of this paper will provide examples and solutions where we as a nation should add or cut from the healthcare expenditures. This paper will also detail how the general public's healthcare needs are being paid for, the biggest economic healthcare challenge, why the challenge should be addressed, and how this challenge to be financed.

The rising healthcare cost is an issue that affects many working class Americans. Experts have tried to come up with different ways to make health care more affordable and easily accessible to all. Despite all the efforts and even after the Affordable Care Act, there are still millions of Americans without health insurance coverage and therefore unable to access the necessary medical care. According to a 2015 report by the U.S Census Bureau, there are over 33 million uninsured Americans. (“Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2014 - p60-253.pdf,” n.d.) The Affordable Care Act has unquestionably made healthcare more accessible and reduced the number of uninsured Americans. However, there are still millions of

Today, health care issues within the United States are still a major concern in regards to where people of our communities do not always agree with what is being done and what is not being done. The three major issues with health care spending is how much is it going to cost and where is the money going to come from? The amount of per-patient costs have doubled more in the United States than other nations around us. The last issue is the amount of Americans that has no health care at all. This paper will discuss the healthcare expenditures that is necessary for our entire population.

The main cause for the healthcare reform bill is the rising cost of health insurance for the American citizens. From the 1960s to the 1980s healthcare spending went from $28 billion to $255 billion. By the beginning of 2000, healthcare spending increased to $1.4 trillion. The United States economy has slowly declined due to several factors, the cost of health care is one. Presidents, state representatives, hospital and insurance executives, and economists have tried to attack this huge deficit. There are several things that can be done in order to reduce rapidly increasing health care spending. Some actions that could benefit the United States economy is the stop of wasteful

Healthcare spending growth rate trends show astounding estimates. Since 1960, spending has risen from $27 billion ($143 per capita, 5.1% pf GDP) to amazing $1,678.9 billion ($5,670 per capita, 15.3% of GDP, 2003 data) (HHS, 2005). Recent research estimated that by 2013, healthcare spending will be as high as 18.4% of the Growth Domestic Product. It is important to note that the gradual move from hospital to ambulatory setting has resulted in much higher spending on outpatient hospital services and prescription drugs. The spending growth for these two trends is much higher than the overall healthcare cost growth, which, in fact, increases faster than such important economic indicators as GDP growth, inflation growth, and population growth rates.

As a result of enacting the Affordable Care Act, insurance costs will increase because the government will offer universal healthcare. This requires an exorbitant amount of “new [medical] technology [which] will increase efficiency; the cost of new tests and treatments will outweigh the savings”, consuming millions of dollars (Whelan). Therefore the price of healthcare will increase in order to cover all these expenses needed to contribute to the nation’s overall health. Without the Affordable Care Act in effect, the current annual average expense of healthcare insurance is estimated to be around $5,600 per person, an increase compared to $4,255 in 2010 (Kaiser Family Foundation). After the recession that began in 2007, “the government expects that the growth of healthcare spending will outpace the expansion of the economy. By 2020, 1 of every 5 dollars spent in the U.S. is expected to go to healthcare” (Levey). This thus proves that as time passes the amount of healthcare is going to increase, but precise expenses cannot be predicted since it will be evident in the following years to come.

The total health care spending in the United States is expected to reach $4.8 trillion in 2021, up from $2.6 trillion in 2010, and, $75 billion in 1970. To put it in context, this means that healthcare spending will account for nearly 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or one-fifth of the U.S. economy, by 2012. Many consumers and small employers are struggling to afford their health insurance premiums. Some employers are not able to offer health care coverage at all. For firms with fewer than 10 employees, only 50% offered coverage to their workers in 2012.

According to Robert Carroll, (2007) health care costs continue to rise in the United States. The growth of health care costs has been exceeding the GDP growth by two percentage points annually since 1940. These rising costs impose a substantial burden on the U.S. economy. Higher spending on public programs like Medicaid and Medicare strains state and federal budgets. Higher insurance premiums pose a challenge for employees and burden workers with higher health costs and lower wage increases.

US health care expenditures have been rising quickly over the past few years; it has risen more than the national financial system. Nonetheless a number of citizens in the US still lack appropriate health care. If the truth be told, health care expenditures are going to continue to increase; in addition numerous individuals will possibly have to make difficult choices pertaining to their health care. Our health system has grave problems that require reform, through reforming, there is optimism that there will be an increase in affordable health care and high-quality of care for America. Medicaid, Medicare and private sector insurances are all going through trials and tribulations because of

It is ubiquitously known that US health care costs are ballooning, according to research hospital costs grew around 8 percent a year, on average, between 1978 and 2008. 8 percent might seem a small number but it was double the CPI (4 percent a year) which measures the overall price rises in the U.S. economy (Baumol, 6-7). Furthermore, 17% of United States’ GDP was spent on health care, this number exceeded every other country’s health care spending (Altman and Shactman, 235). These costs are attributed to a plethora of different factors. However, there seems to be a consensus that health care costs need to be curbed immediately before there are long-lasting consequences. Despite these incessantly increasing costs, people are still

The healthcare system plays a key role in the economic stability of our country, as every year trillions are spent in attempt to combat disease and health issues that plaque humanity. As it makes up a significant amount of the expenditures in the economy, so the costs associated with health care of those in pain from illness and injury, including lost productivity, increased need of assistance in living and also the cost of death in some cases, is important to the economic stability and over all standard of living in our country. The key to economic prosperity is balancing the need for care with the costs of illness to keep as many people healthy and well without breaking the bank of collective society. The costs of healthcare have been increasingly problematic in recent years with so many issues surrounding the current system. With the “total health care spending in the United States expected to reach $4.8 trillion in 2021, up from $2.6 trillion in 2010 and $75 billion in 1970, meaning that health care spending will account for nearly 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or one-fifth of the U.S. economy, by 2021” (Aetna). With this in mind it is apparent that as we look at the trillion-dollar industry of the medical community it seems that it needs to be a major focus of our nation as a whole and with the many issues come many creative solutions. First let us analyze the reasons behind the current cost and the major problems facing this industry and than discus what