Health_Care_Spending_in_U.S

HEALTH CARE SPENDING IN UNITED STATES In 2001, Americans spent $1.42 trillion on health care, an unprecedented amount which, according to analysts, threatens the country’s ability to pay for medical care. Health care spending grew at the fastest rate in over 10 years, rising 8.7% from the previous year, and economists are concerned that the United States economy may not be able to keep up with the rapidly increasing costs. According to one report, health spending now makes up 14.1% of the United States' gross domestic product (GDP). The headlines read that the costs of 'health care' are going up by over 8.7%. The problem with the headlines is that 'health care' in the United States is absolutely not 'health care', but instead, 'disease care'. The last thing the traditional medical establishment does is to encourage or produce health. These numbers are alarming. If spending continues to rise, the economy is going to be in deep trouble. Prescription costs make up the fastest growing component of the health care market. Spending on drugs rose 16% in 2001. According to actuaries at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), if we continue on our current course, in the next 10 years, 17% of every dollar spent in the U.S. will go toward health care versus the 14% we currently are spending. Although $1.42 trillion is a lot, it is 1/2 the amount which we will be spending in a few years. Again according to actuaries at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), within the next 10 years, health care spending will double to $3 trillion. Drug spending will account for 14.7% of total health expenditures by 2011, compared with 9.4% in 2001. In 2007 United States estimated average of $7,556 spent per person. The 307 million citizens of the United States received services from more than 4,000 hospitals, 30,000 nursing homes, 750,000 physicians, 2.2 million registered nurses, and 8 million other health care workers. Every dollar spends by a patient, an insurance company, or a government is agency, an administrator, or another health employee. The flow of money is circular. Money itself is only a way of keeping track of all the obligations within the economy. Every dollar spent by one person is, of necessity, a dollar of income for someone else. Tracing the flow of funds through this complex system provide some sense of the forces that shape the economy