What should a country spend on health care?

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.