The data from 2013 doesn’t bring a lot of surprises. Total spent on health care $2.9 trillion, that’s 2,900,000,000,000, and amounts to $9,255 per person. The total accounts for 17.4 percent of the economy for health care spending.
Hospital care was $937 billion, physicians and clinical services $587 billion, other professional services (non-physician, e.g., physical therapy, podiatry, chiropractic), $80 billion, durable medical equipment (like wheelchairs, eyeglasses, etc.), $43 billion.
On prescription drugs, the statistics say:
- We spent about $270 billion a year on prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical companies spent 152 million in campaign contributions.
- We pay 77% more than Canadians for the exact same drugs, and 50% or more than Germany, United Kingdom, and Switzerland. No mention of Mexico which is probably 80%.
- Forty eight percent of Americans take 1 prescription, 21% take more than 3 and 11% take more than 5. One out of every 5 children takes prescription drugs and 76% of seniors more than 2.
Who paid for all of it? Medicare paid, $85.7 billion, Medicaid $449.4 billion, premiums for private health insurance reached $962.7 billion, no information on how much private insurance paid, but out of pocket expense from those insured was $39.4 billion.
Clearly, health care provides a major avenue for careers. Many of the medical support jobs require certification. www.med-certification.com has both training and certification for a variety of healthcare careers.