Health Care Cost

Assignment 3: Health Care Costs

Rosalind Williams

Professor Emeka

HSA 500: Introduction to Health Services

November 17, 2013

Health care cost has increased tremendously in the United States. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2004, 16 % was spent on health care. President Obama signed the “Affordable Health Care for America Act (HR 3962)” in 2010, which has been a topic of heated debate since discussions began decades ago. One of the major issues for the U.S. has been health care funding and design.

Provide a discussion that demonstrates you have an understanding of the impact, the cost of health care has on the economy. Be sure to discuss the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The impact that, health care costs has on the economy is health care costs have increased considerably in recent years and it seems to be no end in sight. In the Industry of health care it is the largest service in the country, and is the second industry to employ a large amount of people, compared to the total durable and non-durable goods manufacturing (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004-2005). Americans spent, 1,878 trillion on health care in 2004, comprising 16 % of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) an amounted to 6,280 per capita (Smith et al., 2006). America spends much more than on health care than other industrialized countries. In 2000-2001, the United Kingdom and Japan fell at the lower end of the spectrum, spending 7.6% of their GDP on health care. Switzerland, Germany, France, and Canada came closest to the U.S. numbers with 9.7, 7.9, 10.7, and 10.9 percent spent on health care (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004-2005). The growth in national health expenditures, since 1940, has grown at a rate outperforming the gross domestic product (GDP). The GDP was 4% prior to World War II and by 2004; it had risen by 12% for health care. When Medicaid and Medicare were introduced in the 1960’s expenditures for national health care has grown quickly, from 6.3% of the GDP to the present figure. A great...