The cost of providing healthcare services for 100,000 people

Sun Tzu said: In the operations of war, where there are in the field a thousand swift chariots, as many heavy chariots, and a hundred thousand mail-clad soldiers, with provisions enough to carry them a thousand li, the expenditure at home and at the front, including entertainment of guests, small items such as glue and paint, and sums spent on chariots and armor, will reach the total of a thousand ounces of silver per day. Such is the cost of raising an army of 100,000 men.

From "Sun Tzu on the Art of War - The Oldest Military Treatise in the World"

Translated from the Chinese By Lionel Giles, M.A. (1910)

Discussion:

I referred to the statistics of the healthcare expenditures par capita of the OECD countries to have realistic order of the magnitude for expenditure per day for the healthcare of 100,000 population. I was amazed by how easily the description for the army of 100,000 men can be translated into the one for healthcare for 100,000 population.

Translation:

From the statistics: In the operation of healthcare, where there are in the hospital a thousand outpatient visits, as many acute inpatient beds, and a hundred thousand catchment population, with provision enough to provide full 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year services, the expenditure at back offices and at the front, including hospitality for the guests, small items such as pens and paper, and sum spent on scrubs and linens, will reach the total of hundreds of thousands dollars per day. Such is the cost of providing healthcare services for 100,000 people.

Ray Murakami