A charge is the amount of money Cutler Health Center prices a particular service. Cost is the actual amount of money that we use to provide a particular service. These terms are not used interchangeably. Talk about costs can become confusing. There are many ways to think about cost.
Economic cost is considered the amount paid for the resources consumed in providing a service.
Accounting cost includes economic cost plus a fraction of the costs necessary to run the health center. Marginal cost is considered the additional resources consumed by providing one additional unit of service. Another confusion occurs when we think about the various departments necessary to run a health center. The health records department is necessary. It does not charge students for maintaining the health record.