HCS 440 week 3 Health Care Spending
Health Care Spending
Carrie "Shellie" Cobbs
Economics: The Financing of Health Care
HCS 440
George Atkins
December 15, 2013
Health Care Spending
The American Dream is described by The Free Dictionary as, “An American ideal of a happy and successful life to which all may aspire” ("Definition," 2013, p. 1) yet this can mean different things to different people. To this student it means happiness, prosperity, health, freedom, and the ability to makes choices according to what this student believes in. For other people, the American Dream will mean similar and probably different things. To many Americans the ability to have health care is a part of the American Dream. Obtaining health care insurance and being able to choose the insurance they can afford is part of their own American Dream. This choice usually comes through their employer or through being self-employed and choosing the appropriate health care insurance. This piece of the American Dream is becoming increasingly expensive and unobtainable. This student will explore current national health care expenditures, is there is too much spent or not enough if cuts need to be made, how health care needs are paid for, and a forecast of the economic needs of the health care system.
The level of the current national health care expenditures
Health care costs continue to increase. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), “U.S. health care spending reached $2.7 trillion in 2011, or $8,680 per person. Health spending grew 3.9 percent in 2011, the same rate of growth as in 2009 and 2010” ("2011 Expenditures," n.d., p. 1). The United States pay the most per person of any other country in the world. The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) is an agency comprised of 34 nations that compare data regarding different economies around the world. Health care expenditures are one area they collect data. According to the data collected from 2010 by the OECD and
Carrie "Shellie" Cobbs
Economics: The Financing of Health Care
HCS 440
George Atkins
December 15, 2013
Health Care Spending
The American Dream is described by The Free Dictionary as, “An American ideal of a happy and successful life to which all may aspire” ("Definition," 2013, p. 1) yet this can mean different things to different people. To this student it means happiness, prosperity, health, freedom, and the ability to makes choices according to what this student believes in. For other people, the American Dream will mean similar and probably different things. To many Americans the ability to have health care is a part of the American Dream. Obtaining health care insurance and being able to choose the insurance they can afford is part of their own American Dream. This choice usually comes through their employer or through being self-employed and choosing the appropriate health care insurance. This piece of the American Dream is becoming increasingly expensive and unobtainable. This student will explore current national health care expenditures, is there is too much spent or not enough if cuts need to be made, how health care needs are paid for, and a forecast of the economic needs of the health care system.
The level of the current national health care expenditures
Health care costs continue to increase. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), “U.S. health care spending reached $2.7 trillion in 2011, or $8,680 per person. Health spending grew 3.9 percent in 2011, the same rate of growth as in 2009 and 2010” ("2011 Expenditures," n.d., p. 1). The United States pay the most per person of any other country in the world. The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) is an agency comprised of 34 nations that compare data regarding different economies around the world. Health care expenditures are one area they collect data. According to the data collected from 2010 by the OECD and
References: About the Law. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/rights/ American Dream. (2013). In American dream (4th ed.). Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/American+dream Health Care Costs: A Primer. (2012). Retrieved from http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/7670-03.pdf Kane, J. (2012, October 22, 2012). Health Costs: How the U.S. Compares With Other Countries. PBS News Hour. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/10/health-costs-how-the-us-compares-with-other-countries.html National Health Expenditure Projections 2011-2021. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/Downloads/Proj2011PDF.pdf National Health Expenditures 2011 Highlights. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/highlights.pdf