As a matter of fact, the quality of health care has substantially improved since the 970s. Technological progress, the change of health care policies in favor of the patients well-being, the improvement of medical facilities, and the development of new methods of treatment contributed to the increase of NHE. In other words, the government started to spend more on treatment and health care delivery per person. In 2003, NHE accounted for more than 5% of GDP, and this percentage continued to grow up to 7% in 208 (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], n.d.). However, while between 970 and 2003, the exponential growth of expenditures may be observed, in recent years, its rates have notably decreased (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], n.d.). In general, total health spending in public health is shared between the federal government, the households, the private business, local governments, and other private investors.
In fact, the enormous growth of expenditures in the public health system considerably threatens health care sustainability for a substantial number of American citizens. Employers
are not able to afford increasing health care insurance premiums for employees (Riggs, et al., 20). In addition, health care insurance companies continuously seek to control their risk by excluding high-risk patients and restricting covered benefits (Riggs, et al., 20, p. 05). As the government cannot afford to provide unlimited benefits for its citizens by shifting the costs to future taxpayers, people become partially or fully responsible for all health care expenditures if illness or injury occurs (Riggs, et al., 20, p. 05). Moreover, the implementation of programs that allow citizens to receive medical aid without insurance contributed to the rise of health care costs.
At the same time, NHE per capita does not reflect the change of prices for individuals. The countrys economic situation, the populations total growth in incomes, inflation, and living standards should be considered for the evaluation of the patients financial burden. The costs of health care are traditionally affected by an aging and growing population, the prevalence of particular diseases, service intensity, and medical service utilization.