Module 2 Assignment 1: Exploring U.S. Health Care Expenditures Name: Edward Hamilton

1. Year for which data is presented 2013 Total dollar amount for expenditures $ 2.9 trillion (1 pt) | 2. Explain how national health expenditures vary from governmental spending on health care. (2 pts) National health expenditures (NHE) comprise of all expenditures from all payer sources (individual and institutional) of which governmental spending is just one component of the NHE total. For example, an insured’s copay as well as a hospital’s new cancer center construction costs all count towards the NHE total. Governmental spending is limited to expenditures from the public sector (i.e. Medicaid, Medicare, VA and single disease funds) ( | The Nation’s Health Dollar 2013: Where It Went(Expenditures Table) | Category of expenditure | % allocated to this category (1 pt each) | | Answer the questions below including citations to your sources. (3 pts each) | Program administration and net cost | 3a. 7% | | 3f. What does this category include? “Administrative costs of the health insurance system include (a) spending by public and private health insurers other than actual payments to providers and (b) costs incurred by other system participants, including providers, employers, and consumers, in dealing with insurers” (Merlis, 2009, pgs. 2-5). The net cost of private health insurance is the difference between health premiums earned and benefits incurred (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2014, para.15). What might make it go up or down in future years? In the current climate, if the King plaintiffs prevail, the ACA subsidies would