6-1 Discussion Government Costs Post 4

WiththelargeamountofmoneyspenteachyearonhealthcarepaidforbytheAmerican

government,itisinterestingtoconsiderhowmanyareunawareoruneducatedregardingthese

expenditures.Therearelikelyamultitudeofreasonsthatexplainthelackofawarenessregarding

governmenthealthcarespending.In2020,totalspendingforU.S.healthcarewasapproximately

$4.1trillion(CMS.gov,2021);thatisanincrediblylargenumberthatsomemayhavedifficulty

comprehendingintermsofdollarsspent.Ofthatspending,approximately$1.5trillionwasspent

throughMedicareandMedicaid,withfederalgovernmentspendinginhealthcaregrowingby

36%in2020(CMS.gov,2021).MuchofthatgrowthhasbeenattributedtotheCOVID-19

pandemic(CMS.gov,2021).ConsideringthecurrentpoliticalsituationintheUnitedStates,itis

possiblethatAmericansarepayingattentiontoitemsthataredeemedmorenews-worthy,more

shocking,ormorepolarizing.Americansmaybemoreupsetaboutthingstheycansee,liketax

dollarsspentonvaccinedevelopmentortheenormousdefensebudget,thanthingsthathave

alreadybeengoingonbehindthescenesallalong.

WemayalsohaveasituationwheretheaverageAmericandoesnotrealizetheaverage

healthcarecostsintermsofagegroups,regardlessofpayer.InformationfromCMSregarding

2014dataindicatesalargerportionofhealthcarepaymentsforfemalesincomparisontotheir

malecounterpartsandadvisesthat,percapita,healthcareexpenditureswerenearlyninetimes

greaterforadultsovertheageof85thanforchildren(CMS,n.d.).Healthcarespendingforolder

adultsovertheageof65wasapproximately$11,000greaterthanthepercapitaaverageofthe

entirepopulation(CMS.gov,n.d.);withMedicareeligibilitybeginningatage65,itiseasytosee

howthegovernmentcouldberesponsibleforalargeportionoftheseexpenses(Backman,2021)

buttheaveragelaypersoncouldcontinuetobeunawareofthehealthcarecoststhegovernment

isresponsiblefor.

References

Backman,M.(2021,July16).Do I need to sign up for Medicare at 65 if I’m still

working? MedicareResources.org.https://www.medicareresources.org/faqs/do-i-need-

to-sign-up-for-medicare-at-65-if-im-still-working/#:~:text=Medicare%20eligibility

%20starts%20at%20age,over%20the%20course%20of%20retirement



NHE fact sheet. CMS.gov.(2021,December15).https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-

and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NHE-Fact-

Sheet#:~:text=Historical%20NHE%2C%202020%3A&text=Medicaid%20spending%20grew

%209.2%25%20to,16%20percent%20of%20total%20NHE.&text=Out%20of%20pocket

%20spending%20declined,the%205.9%25%20growth%20in%202019



U.S. personal health care spending by age and gender – 2014 highlights. CMS.gov.

(n.d.).https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-

Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/Downloads/AgeandGenderHighlights.pdf

