Health Care Spending Paper

Health Care Spending Paper

Amanda Carter

HCS/440

March 1, 2012

Martha Ketcher

Health Care Spending Paper

Introduction

In this paper the current trends of the national health care expenditures will be discussed, along with the effects on the economy, and which areas need to be adjusted to serve better the health care of individuals. The explanation of how the public’s health care needs are paid for will be addressed, along with representation of the total expenditure cost. In this paper one will discuss future possibilities of the needs in health care, and why these needs require prompt attention. One will use theories that can finance these possibilities to balance expenditures and increase quality care.

Level of current health care expenditures

The current level of national health care expenditures have expanded and the cost of American wages have decreased at a slower rate. Insurance premiums have doubled for employers and ones families by $7,500 with employer based insurances. Over the decade an employer based insurance plan rose from 12 to 22 % of one’s income. The reasoning of the high cost in premiums is the percentage of private sector compensation from 5.4 to 7.3 % from 1999 to 2009 diminishing worker’s wages. Small businesses became the hardest damaged area; in result businesses offering employee coverage dropped from 65 to 59 % between 1999 and 2009. In the process of health care reform, the Affordable Care Act became to be a positive aid in health care premiums. The ACC supported review of quality benefits rather than focusing on medical overhead such as medical loss ratios. For example, the ACC provided a Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, a benefit for early retirees, and assistance to the uninsured with pre-existing conditions. These examples have shown a major increase assisting Americans and resulted in...