Abstract
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.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Budgets / standards
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Budgets / statistics & numerical data
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Child
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Child Mortality
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Cost-Benefit Analysis
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Cross-Cultural Comparison
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Delivery of Health Care / economics*
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Developed Countries / economics
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Developing Countries / economics
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Financing, Organized / standards*
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Financing, Organized / statistics & numerical data
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Health Expenditures / statistics & numerical data*
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Health Policy / economics*
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Humans
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Income / statistics & numerical data
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Public Health / economics*
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Public Health / standards
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World Health Organization