Access to care, quality of care, and the cost of care are the top areas that hospitals are working to improve. The cost of health care and financing health care results in a national healthcare expenditure and sources of payment must be investigated. Healthcare costs are also inextricably bound to quality issues and therefore quality initiatives are linked to healthcare spending. National Health Expenditures (NHE) and trends are reported annually by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The expenditures are reported and tracked over time using a standard format that identifies both the private and public sources of funds as well as the objects of expense. Reports are issued annually, two years following closure of the reporting period. See Table 8-1 in the textbook. In 2014, NHE totaled more than $3.0 trillion, 17.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and that equates to approximately $9,523 person (see Figure 8-1). There are a number of interrelated factors that contribute to healthcare expenditures. These include aging population; new drugs and medical and diagnostic technology; emphasis on specialty medicine; large numbers of uninsured and underinsured; volume-based reimbursement incentives; and labor intensity. Assume you have been working as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and you receive a call from the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), who requests that the two of you work together on a healthcare spending project. Your first task is to conduct a PESTLE Analysis. Use Critical Thinking Skills and Metacognition to research current events in the macro environment. Then, prepare a Microsoft PowerPoint 10-slide narrative using a PESTLE Analysis. A identifies political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors. Your 10-slide PESTLE PowerPoint should follow this format Purchase the answer to view it