The percentage of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) devoted to healthcare expenditures has increased over the past several decades. According to 2016 statistics, the United States spent $3.3 trillion or $10,739 per person on healthcare expenditures or 17.9% of its gross domestic product. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) predicts annual healthcare costs will be $4.64 trillion by 2024, which represents nearly 20% of the U.S. GDP. The increase in healthcare spending is attributed to three causes:
-When prices increase in an economy overall, the cost of medical care will increase more regardless of inflation
-As life expectancy increases in the United States, more individuals will require more medical care for chronic diseases, which means there will be more healthcare expenses
-As healthcare technology and research provide for more sophisticated and more expensive procedures, there will be an increase in healthcare expenses
ASSIGNMENT
Consider this scenario … Your health insurance is paid for by your family. You continually hear your parents complain about “cost sharing” in their health insurance costs. You are studying this term in your healthcare management course so you can help explain it to your parents and suggest options for reducing their out of pocket expenses.
Perform research to identify credible resources on “cost sharing” in the U.S. healthcare insurance system. Define cost sharing and how cost is shared with the employer and employees like your parents. Develop a concise but informative report and share it with your parents in an email in this discussion thread.
