Our Health Policy Matters

An accurate but off-the-mark news headline this week proclaimed that health care costs for people insured in the private sector rose twice as fast as inflation in 2010.  But it didn’t mention that health insurance premium prices rose six times as fast. The Health Care Cost and Utilization Report, 2010 was released by the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI).  It was based on claims data for 33 million people – one fifth of those with employer-based health insurance. The bottom line: the consumer price index rose by only 1.6% in 2010, but health care spending was up by 3.3% for the same year. The report summarized that “prices increased across all categories of service, with outpatient services experiencing the fastest growth.”  This is bad news for Americans with private health insurance already fed up with low and flat salaries and the high price of health.  The cost of health care now absorbs over one-sixth of our entire gross domestic product, an...

An accurate but off-the-mark news headline this week proclaimed that health care costs for people insured in the private sector rose twice as fast as inflation in 2010.  But it didn’t mention that health insurance premium prices rose six times as fast. The Health Care Cost and Utilization Report, 2010 was released by the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI).  It was based on claims data for 33 million people – one fifth of those with employer-based health insurance. The bottom line: the consumer price index rose by only 1.6% in 2010, but health care spending was up by 3.3% for the same year. The report summarized that “prices increased across all categories of service, with outpatient services experiencing the fastest growth.”  This is bad news for Americans with private health insurance already fed up with low and flat salaries and the high price of health.  The cost of health care now absorbs over one-sixth of our entire gross domestic product, an...