Letter: What is real healthcare cost?

Would someone please define what is included in “medical spending in the U.S.”? Your recent article states that “Public and private spending for U.S. healthcare increased to $3.2 trillion in 2015...” How is that figure determined?

Is the “medical spending” here the “total charges” stated by providers? The net amount after subtracting “adjustments” to reach Medicare-accepted figures? Or the amounts actually paid by patients and their insurers? The different amounts are both widely divergent and politically potent.

This whole healthcare billing-payment system defies understanding, and the administrative costs significantly inflate total spending.

This story was originally published December 7, 2016 at 8:04 PM with the headline "Letter: What is real healthcare cost?."