Health Affairs, 26, no. 4 (2007): 962-970 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.26.4.962 © 2007 by Project HOPE	New Online   Pay Cuts For Medicare Docs   Access To Care Woes   Public Coverage More Efficient   Empowering Consumers

This Article Figures Only Full Text (HTML) Reprint (PDF) Submit a response to this article Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Personal Archive Download to Citation Manager Reprints & Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Savedoff, W. D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Savedoff, W. D. Related Collections International Issues Health Spending

Cost Pressures

What Should A Country Spend On Health Care?

Per capita health spending across countries ranges by more than 100 to 1, leading many people to ask, "What should a country spend on health care?" This paper discusses four approaches to this question and demonstrates how each approach, in effect, answers a slightly different question, all of which are important to public policy decisions regarding health care spending. The paper also addresses a commonly cited World Health Organization statement that countries should spend 5 percent of national income on health care services.

                      What's this?