Health Economics: National Health Care Expenditures

Abstract

A picture of the overall structure of the US health care industry can be garnered by examining national health expenditures. In 2015, US national health expenditures grew to $3.2 trillion (US), outpacing growth in gross domestic product. Valuable insights are found by examining categories of spending, sources of funds, and target areas of spending, raising questions about the logic and performance of the US system. These perspectives can inform deeper consideration of healthcare policy and reform. This review contains 3 tables and 20 references. Key Words: health economics, health policy, Medicaid, Medicare, national health expenditures, opportunity cost, projections