The total expenditure for health services in 2007 was 83 times the total expenditure in 1960, increasing from $26.9 billion to $2.2 trillion. What factors account for this increase? How much did each factor contribute to this increase?
What services are supported in large part by private health insurance? By the federal government? By out-of-pocket expenditures? What do these funding sources suggest about the population utilizing these services? About other population or system factors?
Health expenditures in 2007 totaled $2.2 trillion and absorbed 16.2 percent of thedomestic product. Should we be concerned about the amount of the gross domestic product that is absorbed by the health sector? Why or why not? Should we set a cap on the percentage of gross domestic product absorbed by health expenditures, or should we take some other action?
Discuss some of the key initiatives to contain or control or reduce health expenditures in recent years (Exhibit 7.16). How successful has each initiative been? What factors influenced the success (or failure) of each initiative?
Discuss the potential effect of devoting nearly 20 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product in 2017 to health services. How will other sectors of the economy-for example, education, transportation, housing, and corrections-fare with so much of the gross domestic product devoted to health services?