ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the question, why is this issue particularly important, urgent, and ominous now? It examines fiscal pressures caused by continued increases in the proportion of GDP devoted to healthcare expenditures, evidence on the causes of increases in healthcare expenditures, and options for reducing the growth rate of these expenditures. The chapter also examines the implications of this issue for the development of treatment guidelines. We tend to use the word cost in a variety of situations: sometimes we use this word to describe the price per item, while in other situations, we use this word to indicate the amount of our total expenditure. If we were complaining about an increase in the cost of gasoline, for example, we might be referring to increased price per gallon, or—if we just bought a new gas-guzzling vehicle—we might be referring to the increased cost of commuting to work.
