Where Does the Money Go?
The breakdown of health care expenditures over the last 10 years
has remained relatively stable with hospital and physicians
costs amounting to over 50% of the total. The `other`
categories `Other Personal Health Care` and `Other Health
Spending` account for about 30% of the remaining half.
Prescription drug costs have risen about 30% (from 6.9%
to 10.1%) during the period 1997-2007. That time frame
featured the addition of a prescription drug benefit
to the Medicare program.
During that same period, nursing home and home health
care fell as a percentage of the total from 10.6% to
8.5%.
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