Thursday, July 31, 2008
Cost of Health Care VS Gas prices
Gas prices are in the political spotlight right now; this year's spike has been painful and the calls for action — and heads — have pushed other issues to the side. But it is worth remembering that when it comes to real, sustained growth in costs, when it comes to real, sustained erosion of families' disposable income, gas still can't hold a candle to the real elephant in the room: health care.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
HEALTH CARE COST ---UNIVERSAL COVERAGE
John F. Wasik July 2, 2008
Healthcare will become one of the most onerous personal-finance issues in coming years unless the system is changed to ensure universal access, cost control, and long-term financing.
US families now pay more than $12,000 a year for health coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Yet why doesn't any presidential candidate fully endorse a comprehensive national plan?
What would make healthcare available to more than 47 million who don't have coverage and the majority of American families whose premiums have risen 78 percent since 2001? Massive buying power through consolidation of separate programs and a public-private partnership.
To understand what a pervasive problem medical spending is, you need to digest some numbers. Health expenditures consume about 16 percent of US gross domestic product. Translated to an individual family, medical insurance claims 20 percent of median income. That's compared with 8 percent in 1987, according to the nonpartisan New America Foundation. Life expectancy is directly connected to medical coverage. Uninsured and underinsured (an additional 25 million) Americans visit doctors less frequently, pay more for care, and have the highest rate of preventable deaths before age 75, according to the Institute of Medicine.
Employers who do offer coverage are less competitive in a global marketplace. Workers who don't have policies end up in emergency rooms demanding costly care that taxpayers will ultimately finance.
Unless the growing bite of health costs is addressed, related spending will double by 2017 from 2007 levels, consuming one out of every five dollars produced in the United States, according to the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services.
How do you save the best of US healthcare while providing it to everyone at a reasonable cost? Creating one new, entirely government-run public program may be untenable and politically unacceptable. The road to a solution can merge both private and public interests. What would such a hybrid look like? It would:
1) Outsource cost controlling. That means hiring audit firms to see where costs can be cut. The government could act like a huge accounts-payable department; a private firm would police billing and implement best practices.
2) Negotiate the best price. Maybe Wal-Mart's purchasing practices could be the model.
3) End fees for service. Medical expenses should be based on performance and outcomes, not on number of procedures.
4) Make technology a big part of the system. A major overhaul focusing on efficient technology use is in order.
The healthcare picture of the future isn't cloudy. There will be devastating financial consequences if we don't hunker down and prepare for a much more severe fiscal storm.
John F. Wasik is a Bloomberg News columnist. He can be reached at jwasik@bloomberg.net. Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2008/07/02/healthcare_costs _must_be_brought_under_control_or_the_economy_will_surely_suffer/
Healthcare will become one of the most onerous personal-finance issues in coming years unless the system is changed to ensure universal access, cost control, and long-term financing.
US families now pay more than $12,000 a year for health coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Yet why doesn't any presidential candidate fully endorse a comprehensive national plan?
What would make healthcare available to more than 47 million who don't have coverage and the majority of American families whose premiums have risen 78 percent since 2001? Massive buying power through consolidation of separate programs and a public-private partnership.
To understand what a pervasive problem medical spending is, you need to digest some numbers. Health expenditures consume about 16 percent of US gross domestic product. Translated to an individual family, medical insurance claims 20 percent of median income. That's compared with 8 percent in 1987, according to the nonpartisan New America Foundation. Life expectancy is directly connected to medical coverage. Uninsured and underinsured (an additional 25 million) Americans visit doctors less frequently, pay more for care, and have the highest rate of preventable deaths before age 75, according to the Institute of Medicine.
Employers who do offer coverage are less competitive in a global marketplace. Workers who don't have policies end up in emergency rooms demanding costly care that taxpayers will ultimately finance.
Unless the growing bite of health costs is addressed, related spending will double by 2017 from 2007 levels, consuming one out of every five dollars produced in the United States, according to the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services.
How do you save the best of US healthcare while providing it to everyone at a reasonable cost? Creating one new, entirely government-run public program may be untenable and politically unacceptable. The road to a solution can merge both private and public interests. What would such a hybrid look like? It would:
1) Outsource cost controlling. That means hiring audit firms to see where costs can be cut. The government could act like a huge accounts-payable department; a private firm would police billing and implement best practices.
2) Negotiate the best price. Maybe Wal-Mart's purchasing practices could be the model.
3) End fees for service. Medical expenses should be based on performance and outcomes, not on number of procedures.
4) Make technology a big part of the system. A major overhaul focusing on efficient technology use is in order.
The healthcare picture of the future isn't cloudy. There will be devastating financial consequences if we don't hunker down and prepare for a much more severe fiscal storm.
John F. Wasik is a Bloomberg News columnist. He can be reached at jwasik@bloomberg.net. Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2008/07/02/healthcare_costs _must_be_brought_under_control_or_the_economy_will_surely_suffer/
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