Healthcare Costs Continue To Rise

No big surprise here. Costs up. Incomes down. Sicker people. More treatment options. More technology. More access. More costs. Administratively complex system. Frustrated patients.

Maybe the only big surprise that I think exists is the disparity between spending across the country (i.e., how much they spend to treat a condition in one state versus another) and the disparity in outcomes between the US and other countries.

• Here is a USA Today article showing variation in spending by state by high and low hospital rates.
• You can also read some of the Dartmouth research on Medicare variance. (General Dartmouth research site)

But, the facts are important and certainly drive the focus on this within the election.

Here are a few things from a recent article about HC spending doubling by 2017:

• One of every $5 spent in the US will go to health care by 2017 (more than $4 trillion/year).
• 6.7% annual increase (3x inflation) is driven by increased demand, higher prices, larger population, and aging population.
• Government will be responsible for 49% of the costs (versus 46% in 2006) over the next decade.
• Average spending per person will go from $7,026 (2006) to $13,101 (2017E).

“Health is projected to consume an expanding share of the economy, which means that policymakers, insurers and the public will face increasingly difficult decisions about the way health care is delivered and paid for,” CMS economists said. (source)