How much of our healthcare spending goes for “medical professional, physician services?” Meaning how much is paid for the services doctors provide? Depending on how you define “medical professional, physician services” it seems to range from approximately 22% to 35%.
So do Physicians Get 10% or Maybe 35% of Our Healthcare Dollar?
This tweet by Mary Pat Whaley sharing some info that doctors account for about 10% of healthcare spending elicited my response that it was actually closer to 30%. Then a series of tweets erupted.
It became clear that we were talking apples and oranges. So per Mary Pat’s request, I'm posting some info to back up my tweet.
It’s Way More Than 10%
Bottom line is that for “medical professional, physician services?” account for way more than 10% of our healthcare spending. And I’d argue that the 22-35% figures are actually higher given a physicians role in often determining when a person is admitted to Inpatient care and/or obtains other Outpatient care; both or which are broken out of the “Physician Services” buckets.
Information & Statistics – You Decide
33% (2011) - "Where Does Your Health Insurance Dollar Go?"
33% (2011) - "Rethink: Where do your healthcare dollars go?"
35% (2012) - “Where do our health care dollars go?”
21% (2010) - "Where do all those trillions of dollars for health care go?"
22% (2002) - "Where do health spending dollars go?"
Some Stats on Healthcare Payments from 1960 to 2012
National Health Expenditures; Aggregate and Per Capita Amounts, Annual Percent Change and Percent Distribution: Selected Calendar Years 1960-2012
And Some Related Info:
What do you think? Show me the stats...
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