Government spending on healthcare

UShouseholdsspent$980Bonhealthcarein2017,whichworks

outtobe$3200foreveryman,woman,andchild.(Moeller,2019)

Andthatsoundslikealotofmoney.However,

consumersdirectlypayforonlyabout1/3ofthenation's$2.9T

personalhealthcarecosts(Moelller,2019)Howcanthatbe???

Therealityisthatwepayfortheremaining2/3ofthat

$2.9Tindirectlyandthatmakesiteasierforustonotthinkabout

whatdollarsaregoingoutthedoor.Infact,inaUSATodayarticle

datedSeptember2019(Makary,2019)nearlyhalfofourfederaltax

dollarsarespentonhealthcareinsomeway,shape,orform.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toanother

6%ofthefederalbudget(Makary,2019)Again,healthcareis

indirectlypaidthruourtaxes.

Privatehealthinsurersspendinexcessof$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premiums.

“Thereisnosuchthingasafreelunch.”W.Morrow1938.

Makary,M.(2019,September).Wespendabouthalfofourfederal

taxdollarsonhealthcare.That'sridiculous.USAToday.Retrieved

February7,2022,fromhttps://www.usatoday.com/

Moeller,P.(2019,February).HowAmericansspendmuchmoreon

healthcarethantheyrealize.PBS.RetrievedFebruary7,2022,from

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/health-spending-could-rise-

5-5-percent-a-year-through-2027-heres-why