SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Spike in Pricing, Not Baby Boomers at Heart of American Healthcare Crisis
New report debunks myth that aging population is overcrowding US healthcare, driving US cost up
Nov 12, 2013
Contrary to the popular notion that an aging population is driving up total U.S. healthcare costs, it is actually unrelated jumps in pricing for services and medicine that is taking a toll on America's wallets, according to a new study by the American Medical Association.
Between 2000 to 2011 alone, U.S. healthcare spending increased from $1.6 trillion to $2.7 trillion. Since 1980 costs have tripled. This "big leap," as Ben Hallman at The Huffington Post writes, owes itself "almost completely to factors other than increased demand, from the elderly or anyone else."
As the report states, "Since 2000 price, especially of hospital charges, professional services, drugs and devices, and administrative costs, not demand for services or aging of the population, produced 91% of cost increases."
"Price is the culprit," study author Hamilton Moses told reporters at a briefing in Washington. "Not population, demographics, or use and intensity that is driving the increase."
Pulling from the study, Hallman writes:
More than nine in 10 of those dollars spent, the study found, paid for higher treatment and drug costs.
Costs incurred to treat some illnesses have jumped dramatically. The U.S. government, private insurance companies and patients collectively spent $109 billion in 2010 to treat heart conditions, for example. That's up from $72 billion in 2000.
More than $40 billion was spent to treat back pain in 2010, up from 22 billion in 2000.
Hyperlipidemia care costs -- treatment for high cholesterol and triglycerides -- jumped to $38 billion in 2010 from $10 billion a decade before. That amounts to a more than 14 percent annual growth rate.
High prices for medicine and trips to the doctor, however, do not mean patients are receiving more care or higher quality care, the report argues. While the U.S. mortality rate climbs above other developed countries, less and less Americans have gained access to health care and health insurance.
"The authors have marshaled more than three decades of data to paint a bleak picture of a fractured system that is both increasingly unaffordable and under-effective," writes Hallman. "They make the case that something needs to change."
_____________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Jacob Chamberlain
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.
Contrary to the popular notion that an aging population is driving up total U.S. healthcare costs, it is actually unrelated jumps in pricing for services and medicine that is taking a toll on America's wallets, according to a new study by the American Medical Association.
Between 2000 to 2011 alone, U.S. healthcare spending increased from $1.6 trillion to $2.7 trillion. Since 1980 costs have tripled. This "big leap," as Ben Hallman at The Huffington Post writes, owes itself "almost completely to factors other than increased demand, from the elderly or anyone else."
As the report states, "Since 2000 price, especially of hospital charges, professional services, drugs and devices, and administrative costs, not demand for services or aging of the population, produced 91% of cost increases."
"Price is the culprit," study author Hamilton Moses told reporters at a briefing in Washington. "Not population, demographics, or use and intensity that is driving the increase."
Pulling from the study, Hallman writes:
More than nine in 10 of those dollars spent, the study found, paid for higher treatment and drug costs.
Costs incurred to treat some illnesses have jumped dramatically. The U.S. government, private insurance companies and patients collectively spent $109 billion in 2010 to treat heart conditions, for example. That's up from $72 billion in 2000.
More than $40 billion was spent to treat back pain in 2010, up from 22 billion in 2000.
Hyperlipidemia care costs -- treatment for high cholesterol and triglycerides -- jumped to $38 billion in 2010 from $10 billion a decade before. That amounts to a more than 14 percent annual growth rate.
High prices for medicine and trips to the doctor, however, do not mean patients are receiving more care or higher quality care, the report argues. While the U.S. mortality rate climbs above other developed countries, less and less Americans have gained access to health care and health insurance.
"The authors have marshaled more than three decades of data to paint a bleak picture of a fractured system that is both increasingly unaffordable and under-effective," writes Hallman. "They make the case that something needs to change."
_____________________
Jacob Chamberlain
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.
Contrary to the popular notion that an aging population is driving up total U.S. healthcare costs, it is actually unrelated jumps in pricing for services and medicine that is taking a toll on America's wallets, according to a new study by the American Medical Association.
Between 2000 to 2011 alone, U.S. healthcare spending increased from $1.6 trillion to $2.7 trillion. Since 1980 costs have tripled. This "big leap," as Ben Hallman at The Huffington Post writes, owes itself "almost completely to factors other than increased demand, from the elderly or anyone else."
As the report states, "Since 2000 price, especially of hospital charges, professional services, drugs and devices, and administrative costs, not demand for services or aging of the population, produced 91% of cost increases."
"Price is the culprit," study author Hamilton Moses told reporters at a briefing in Washington. "Not population, demographics, or use and intensity that is driving the increase."
Pulling from the study, Hallman writes:
More than nine in 10 of those dollars spent, the study found, paid for higher treatment and drug costs.
Costs incurred to treat some illnesses have jumped dramatically. The U.S. government, private insurance companies and patients collectively spent $109 billion in 2010 to treat heart conditions, for example. That's up from $72 billion in 2000.
More than $40 billion was spent to treat back pain in 2010, up from 22 billion in 2000.
Hyperlipidemia care costs -- treatment for high cholesterol and triglycerides -- jumped to $38 billion in 2010 from $10 billion a decade before. That amounts to a more than 14 percent annual growth rate.
High prices for medicine and trips to the doctor, however, do not mean patients are receiving more care or higher quality care, the report argues. While the U.S. mortality rate climbs above other developed countries, less and less Americans have gained access to health care and health insurance.
"The authors have marshaled more than three decades of data to paint a bleak picture of a fractured system that is both increasingly unaffordable and under-effective," writes Hallman. "They make the case that something needs to change."
_____________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.