Discussion 6 Government costs Post 8

Healthcare is more expensive in the US than any other country and most of that is from the

federal government. Healthcare expenses accounted for about $3.5 trillion or 18% of the GDP in

2017, about twice as much than the average of other developed countries (CRFB 2018). Of that

$3.5 trillion spent on healthcare in the US $1.5 trillion is either directly or indirectly financed by

the federal government, roughly 8% of the economy’s resources. It is estimated that by 2028

these costs will have increased to $2.9 trillion by the government. These cost rate increases are

unsustainable and without intervention and reorganization the results could be program

insolvency, crowding out of public priorities, and an unchecked growth for federal debt.

Americans, six-in-ten, believe that the government should be responsible for health care coverage

government programs and responsibility and republicans leaning towards their involvement. I

think this boils down to the basics of positive and negative rights. Democrats tend to believe in

positive rights or the right to have things given to them, vs. republicans who tend to believe in

negative rights or the right to not have things taken away, but that is a whole other discussion.

People do not understand the costs because they do not see them and most people expect

healthcare to be provided by someone to them. I believe they also get caught up in what they are

also paying for health insurance and focus on their bills, that can be daunting, and simply do not

understand the responsibilities that the government has for healthcare.

The healthcare system in the United States is a complex combination of public and private

initiatives. Most Americans who have health insurance do it through their employment. However,

believe that market competition will solve all their problems.

The federal government of the United States invests in two healthcare programs for the poor,

which are covered by Medicaid, and for seniors, as well as for veterans, federal employees, who

Many different groups provide healthcare in the United States. In the United States, 58 percent of

public hospitals are non-profit, 21 percent are government-owned, and 21 percent are for-profit

(Fast facts on U.S. hospitals, 2021: AHA). The effects of health status and health treatment are less

relevant than previously anticipated effects of social variables. Using health care alone will not

help a sick individual recover. Even though the proportion of recipients is small, the realities of

Medicaid expenditure allocation reveal that most of the money goes to people with disabilities.

Domestic Product (Historical, n.d.). In addition, even though the United States' per-capita

healthcare spending is among the highest in the world, many Americans lack health insurance,

whereas other industrialized countries, despite their lower per capita spending, provide extensive

access to the healthcare system. High levels of spending may not result in proportionately higher

outcomes; according to an OECD analysis, the United States ranked below the OECD average in

numerous health care measures such as infant mortality and life expectancy in 2013.

Finally, healthcare reform influences how much people pay for this service as well as their access

discretionary incomes as well as national budgets. Unless great healthcare is freely accessible, the

whole country will suffer in every aspect.

(cms.gov). As the U.S. continues to grow and the number of uninsured Americans increases the

cost to the federal government will also continue to rise exponentially. The government spends

roughly $2 trillion which is directly or indirectly financed by the federal government. This means

nearly 8 percent of the economy budget goes towards health care. By 2028 this is projected to

increase to $2.9 trillion or 9.7 percent of the economy (Health Care, 2018).

The biggest issue is the education regarding the governments impact on health care and the

average American not understanding the areas which the government incurs cost. Americans are

focused on themselves and their family but tend to pay less attention to the government. The

government incurs cost related to tax preferences such as tax exclusion for employer-sponsored

health insurance, Medicaid/CHIP, Medicare, and other spending. Medicare spending totalled

$829.5 billion in 2020 or 20 percent of the total health care spending. While Medicaid spending

increased to $671.2 billion (cms.gov). Those individuals that can “opt in” to health insurance may

not understand how much the government contributes to health care cost. As more Americans

become eligible for Medicare this is going to continue to increase the cost which the government

spends on health care.

budget and drive the growth in debt projected in the future. A top initiative and goal for the

federal government is to control health spending to get the federal debt under control.

September 2019 (Makary, 2019) nearly half of our federal tax dollars are spent on healthcare in

some way, shape, or form. b Federal and state governments paid out $1.7T for healthcare, mostly

thru Medicare and Medicaid. That is all tax dollars. The military healthcare system, the VA health

system, and health benefits for 9 million federal employees, retirees, and family members add up

taxes.

Private health insurers spend more than $1T (Moeller, 2019). Most of the private health insurance

is provided thru employers. $280B of that spending is funded by the premiums that employees

pay, and $765 B is from the premiums that employers pay. "Employers provide health insurance

benefits as a trade-off to larger salaries, so employees are really footing the bill for the entire $1T"

Moeller (2019).

The last part of the hidden healthcare costs we pay for is the interest on the national debt that is

attributable to health care spending. This is estimated to be 3% of the federal budget (Makary,

2019). So, the next time someone says that insurance or Medicare or their employer is paying

their healthcare bills, we need to realize that we are paying the bills thru tax dollars and insurance

As health care reform moves forward, there are a few reasons why many Americans are not aware

government engagement is extremely challenging" (Kaiser.edu, n.d.). As insurance rates increase,

more and more people are opting out of paying for insurance which creates more of a reliance on

government funded healthcare programs. The federal government provides benefits to the elderly

and poor through Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the VA for veterans, and federal employees

using health care expenditures to cover the costs for these groups of Americans. The Centers for

Medicare & Medicaid Services states that the national health expenditures in 1970 for Medicare

was $7.7 billion and in 2012, Medicare expenditures have increased to a whopping $572.5 billion!

This causes a financial crisis for the government’s health care expenditures and this is not

sustainable for the government to continue to spend at their current level. As the population

increases and more people are uninsured and living longer, this creates a problem for the federal

government incurring health care costs.

and an unwillingness to dive deep into the details of the current US healthcare system and its

costs.

Bureau estimates. The average annual cost of health insurance in the USA is $7,470 for an

individual and $21,342 for a family as of July 2020. It is understandable that being $2,424 in debt

there are countries who provide healthcare for little to no cost. Of course, a person will opt for

the option to spend less to non-rather than thousands of dollars in debt or insurance cost. I am

sure they think if another country can obtain that why can’t the US? But do not consider the

details and where the “free” healthcare will come from. “The proposed Medicare for All system

could cost an additional $32 trillion and require a 20 percent tax increase to implement…More

than two-thirds of Americans do not support the plan once they are told a government-run, single-

payer system would require an increase in their personal taxes” (RPC.SENATE.GOV)

Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). Retrieved from

https://siepr.stanford.edu/news/americas-medical-debt-much-worse-we-

think#:~:text=Nationally%2C%2017.8%20percent%20of%20people,amount%20was%20%242%2C42

4%20last%20year.

How much does the federal government spend on Health Care? Tax Policy Center. (2020, May).

Retrieved from https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-much-does-federal-

government-spend-health-care

MEDICARE FOR ALL: HIGHER TAXES, FEWER CHOICES, LONGER LINES. RPC Senate. (2018,

December 4). Retrieved from https://www.rpc.senate.gov/policy-papers/medicare-for-all-higher-

taxes-fewer-choices-longer-lines

Kaiser.edu (n.d.). U.S. health care costs. Retrieved from http://www.kaiseredu.org/Issue-

Modules/US-Health- Care-Costs/Background-Brief.aspx

World Health Organization (2011) Global Health and Aging. Retrieved from:

https://www.who.int/ageing/publications/global_health.pdf

American Health Care: Health spending and the Federal Budget. Committee for a Responsible

Federal Budget. (2018, May 16). Retrieved February 9, 2022, from

https://www.crfb.org/papers/american-health-care-health-spending-and-federal-budget

Historical. CMS. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-

Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-

Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NationalHealthAccountsHistorical

Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-

Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NationalHealthAccountsHistorical

Kaiser.edu (n.d.). U.S. health care costs. Retrieved from http://www.kaiseredu.org/Issue-

Modules/US-Health- Care-Costs/Background-Brief.aspx

Health Spending and the Federal Budget. CRFB. Retrieved from:

https://www.crfb.org/papers/american-health-care-health-spending-and-federal-budget

responsibility. Pew research Center. Retrieved from: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-

tank/2018/10/03/most-continue-to-say-ensuring-health-care-coverage-is-governments-

responsibility/