Health Care Financ R
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This paper presents projections of national health expenditures by type of expenditure and sources of funds for 1980, 1985, and 1990. A major purpose of these projections is to provide a baseline for health care expenditures in the absence of national health insurance and cost containment. Rapid growth in health expenditures is projected to continue to 1990. ⋯ The Federal share of public funds during the same period grew rapidly, from 53 percent in 1965 to 69 percent in 1978. In 1985, approximately 42 percent of total health spending is projected to be financed from public funds, of which 72 percent will be paid by the Federal government. Public funds are expected to account for 43 percent of total national health expenditures by 1990.
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The incentives in the Medicare and Medicaid physician payment systems and their effects on six interrelated aspects of health care costs and beneficiary access to care were analyzed. Research results and data presented indicate that Medicare and Medicaid physician payment incentives are inconsistent with current public policy goals of (1) containing inflation in fees and expenditures, (2) encouraging physician participation in public programs, (3) improving the geographic and specialty distributions of physicians, (4) encouraging primary care instead of surgery, and also outpatient rather than inpatient treatment.