6-1 Discussion Government Costs

American healthcare spending is divided between individuals, employers, and the

government. The majority of government healthcare spending goes towards personal

health care, including trips to the doctor and for prescription drugs. A smaller portion is

spent on research and public health activities, including programs that encourage people to

eat healthier or get vaccinated.

Healthcare spending has increased in recent decades. “In 1970, the United States

spent 7.2 percent of GDP on health care. By 2010, that had risen to 17.9 percent“(Kliff,

2014)..Moremoneyspentonhealthcaremeansfewerdollarsaregoingtootherthings.Withthe

increasedspendingonMedicareandMedicaid,thisrequiresthegovernmenttocutprograms,

Hospitals and doctors are the biggest recipients of healthcare spending with $882 billion

on hospitals, and $752 billion on doctors, which together is 60% of all healthcare

spending.

I personally believe that Americans are unaware of the part that the government

plays in delivering healthcare. They assume that their insurance company covers all the

other costs that they themselves do not pay. This lack of knowledge can also be

contributed to the very complex healthcare system that we have. Where there are many

insurance plans, reimbursements, costs, and more.

References

1. Kliff, S. (2014, April 30th). “Health-Care spending”. Retrieved from