The continued rise in health care spending and patient out-of-pocket (OOP) costs in the United States has led to an intense debate among policymakers and other health care stakeholders on managing increasing costs. Numerous factors contribute to increased spending and OOP costs, including an aging population; structural, administrative and process complexity in the health system; innovative methods for disease prevention; improved speed and accuracy of diagnoses; adoption of novel treatments; health care prices and component costs; and benefit design.

The Health Care Spending Guiding Principles are intended to guide a rigorous, evidence-based evaluation and discussion of health care spending estimates and policies. They aim to improve health care spending efficiency and maximize patient health. These principles can be used to

1. guide and evaluate health spending analyses’ methodological rigor, limitations and alignment with patient-centered care, and
2. guide and evaluate health spending policy, including identification of tradeoffs, risks of unintended consequences and implications for patient-centered care. Users can leverage the results of their analyses to inform policymakers, media and the general public.