Healthcare Costs

"U.S. health care spending grew 3.6 percent in 2013, reaching $2.9 trillion or $9,255 per person. As a share of the nation's Gross Domestic Product, health spending accounted for 17.4 percent (Micah et al., 2011).

Using the above information and other information you will be directed to below, do the following:

Define the economic principle of opportunity cost.

Locate current GDP expenditures and express the percentages in a graph or a chart.

You will find the necessary information either on the October 16th, 2014 post of the Health Affairs Blog or on other websites that contain relevant information: Slow Health Care Spending Growth Moderates GDP Growth InThe Short Term And Policy Targets Should Reflect This.

Explain whether spending 17.4% of GDP is too much or too little to spend on healthcare.

Defend your position using the concept of opportunity cost and highlight specific GDP expenditures that are impacted by healthcare expenditure (opportunity cost).

Reference:

Micah, H., Martin A. B., Benson, J., Catlin, A., & The National Health Expenditure

Accounts Team (2011). National Health Spending In 2011: Overall Growth

Remains Low, But Some Payers And Services Show Signs Of Acceleration.

Health Affairs. Retrieved from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/32/.