Introduction and Alignment
Since 1964, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has published data annually on total health expenditures for the United States, called the National Health Expenditure Accounts (NHEA). The NHEA are the official estimates of health care spending in the United States. The goal for the NHEA is to measure spending on health care consumption and health care investment in the medical sector.
Health care spending has increased in the United States every year since 1960 in absolute and per capita terms, and, except for slight dips in 2013 and 2017, as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). In 2017, the NHEA outlined approximately$3.49 trillion, 17.9% of GDP, and$10,739 per capita. Spending reached this level after decades of increases. For example, per capita spending on health care — not adjusted for inflation — was$146 in 1960, compared to $10,739 in 2017. For the typical household, direct and indirect spending on health care — were it to be allocated evenly across the population — would be larger than any other household expense. Health spending in the US far exceeded that of other developed countries, both in terms of per capita spending and as a percentage of GDP. In fact, US health spending per capita was more than twice that of most other developed countries. In general, health spending has outpaced both inflation and economic growth over the last 50 years.
Upon completion of this assignment, you should be able to:
Analyze the US healthcare expenditures and how it has changed.
Resources
Read: U.S. national health expenditure as percent of GDP from 1960 to 2020
Read: National Health Expenditure Data
Writing Resources
SNU Library
StormSearch Tutorial
Using Google Scholar to find scholarly sources
APA Style and Formatting Guide
Assignment
Over the past 50 years, health care has accounted for a growing share of GDP. National health care spending increased 4.6% in 2019 to $3.8 trillion, growing faster than both the economy (4.0%) and consumer prices (1.8%). In 2019, health care spending accounted for 17.7% of the economy and averaged $11,582 per person, more than twice the amount spent by most developed countries. Write a 2-3 page paper describing the US healthcare expenditures as a percentage of the GDP. Be sure to address the following points:
Identify common healthcare expenditures.
Identify growing healthcare spending categories.
Explain why spending on healthcare is increasing. Does the recent pandemic play a role in higher spending?
Include a minimum of two peer reviewed supporting resources beyond the textbook.
Use the assignment rubric to guide your efforts and apply the current APA formatting style.
Canvas Help for Submitting a File
