Two independent studies contradict the notion that we cannot afford a national health care program.
The studies by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the Dartmouth Atlas Project explain how to extend coverage to the country's uninsured without substantially increasing overall health care costs.
Bob DeMarcoAlzheimer's Reading Room
Editor
The real solution to the health care crisis is to reduce waste and use existing technologies to make the system more efficient.
Subscribe to The Alzheimer's Reading Room -- via Email
Health care costs and the potential loss of health care coverage are weighing heavily on the minds of many Americans. Politicians, well aware of the problem, continue to debate the issue but cannot arrive at a solution. Meanwhile the situation continues to worsens along with the psyche of the American public.
Nearly half of those surveyed in a recent poll say they are worried about their ability to pay for health care in the future.
Recent polls and research show that:
- Twenty-four percent of Americans said they feared losing health care coverage in the next year.
- Nearly 25 percent said that they or a family member delayed seeing a doctor in the past year because of what it might cost.
- 46 percent of Americans polled worried they would not be able to afford health care in the future.
- In February, the government estimated that health care costs this year would average $8,160 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. — an increase of $356 per person from 2008.
- Surveys show that an overwhelming 86 percent of Americans believe health reform is an important part of addressing the nation’s economic crisis.
Nationwide 15.7 percent of Americans were uninsured in 2005. I think it is safe to assume that this number has grown.
To put the cost problem in perspective, Americans spend more on health care than they do on food and housing. The United States spent approximately $2.2 trillion on health care in 2007, or $7,421 per person. This is twice the average cost of other developed nations.
In the 1970s the United States spent seven percent of GDP on health care. By 2004 this number had soared to 15.4 percent of GDP. A simple comparison of cost, as measured by percent of GDP, with Canada, England, and Germany indicates that costs in the United States are not being managed effectively.
Source: the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services
A study conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute found that more than half of the $2.2 trillion spent on health care was wasteful spending.
The research study -- The price of excess: Identifying waste in healthcare spending -- identified several areas of waste and potential savings. These include:
- ineffective use of information technology ($81-$88 billion)
- claims processing ($21-$210 billion)
- defensive medicine ($210 billion)
- Medical errors ($17 billion)
- badly-managed diabetes ($22 billion)
The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care (the granddaddy of this industry) found that
the United States can extend coverage to the country’s uninsured without substantially increasing overall health care costs.The information is contained in the white paper -- An Agenda for Change: Improving Quality and Curbing Health Care Spending: Opportunities for the Congress and the Obama Administration.
This research discusses opportunities for Congress and the Obama Administration to address key shortcomings in our health care system that result in unwarranted geographic variation and uncontrolled growth in health care spending.We know there is a problem and we have known this for decades. Why can't our elected officials look at all the evidence and come up with a solution?
Success in this effort will not only improve the quality of care, it will make it possible to extend coverage to America’s uninsured without inducing a major increase in health care spending.
One can only conclude that our leaders in Washington are unwilling to enact a solution that goes against the grain of their vested interest -- contributions from health care and insurance companies that help insure their re-election. Many of us understand this is the real problem.
The health care system needs to be overhauled using already existing productivity tools and efficiency methods. The Health Research Institute and Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care findings provide a framework for achieving effective, affordable health care for all citizens.
It is time to get this accomplished.
 Bob DeMarco is an Alzheimer's caregiver and editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room. The Alzheimer's Reading Room is the number one website on the Internet for insight into Alzheimer's disease. Bob taught at the University of Georgia, was an executive at Bear Stearns, the CEO of IP Group, and is a mentor. He has written more than 920 articles with more than 7,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL. |
More from the Alzheimer's Reading Room
- Test Your Memory (TYM) for Alzheimer's or Dementia in Five Minutes
- Questions About Test Your Memory (TYM) for Alzheimers and Dementia
- The Thyroid and Alzheimer's
- Are Alzheimer's Caregivers the Forgotten?
- Flavanol-rich Cocoa Consumption Improves Blood Flow to the Brain
- A Simple Three Minute Test Can Detect the Earliest Stage of Alzheimer's Disease
- Eli Lilly Launches Two Late Stage Clinical Trials for Alzheimer's (LY2062430)
- Dimebon Clinical Trial?
- Is it Really Alzheimer's or Something Else?
- Wii a Useful Tool for Alzheimer's Caregivers
- Five Ways to Keep Alzheimer's Away
- 2009 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures
- The Mini-Cog Test for Alzheimer's and Dementia
- What is Dementia?
- 80 Percent of Medical Bills Contain Errors -- Fighting Mistakes
Original content by Bob DeMarco, Alzheimers Reading Room.
Follow the Alzheimer's Reading Room on Twitter
