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...

When the Supreme Court reviews the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act next year, it will do so against the backdrop of both a national sentiment for government to do more in the area of health and significant inequalities in access to health and health care based solely on the states in which people live.   A new poll released last week by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health found that 52% of Americans want government to put more resources into health.   Only 41% gave high grades to our health care system, and only 33% gave our public health system high grades. We would all like a more effective health and health care system.  But a better national delivery system would make a much bigger difference in some states than in others. This week, Our Health Policy Matters unveils a new ranking of the states that reflects which states invest most effectively in our health and health care.  It was cr...

When the Supreme Court reviews the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act next year, it will do so against the backdrop of both a national sentiment for government to do more in the area of health and significant inequalities in access to health and health care based solely on the states in which people live.   A new poll released last week by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health found that 52% of Americans want government to put more resources into health.   Only 41% gave high grades to our health care system, and only 33% gave our public health system high grades. We would all like a more effective health and health care system.  But a better national delivery system would make a much bigger difference in some states than in others. This week, Our Health Policy Matters unveils a new ranking of the states that reflects which states invest most effectively in our health and health care.  It was cr...

Obesity rates in America are higher than ever. This is the conclusion in a new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report entitled F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future .    Released last week, the document notes that one-third of children and two-thirds of adults are now obese or overweight.   Obesity is no minor health matter.   It is linked to disease, disability, and premature death. The report received some media attention for a couple of days, but then we had our fill of it.   It faded into the news background largely because we’ve heard the story before.   No one disputes the two major causes of obesity in America.   Americans take in too many calories, and work off too few. If we accept these causes at face value, the story ends as we decide that weight is a matter of individual – not governmental – responsibility.   The individual choice argument is a powerful one for those who do not think that the government needs to “int...

Obesity rates in America are higher than ever. This is the conclusion in a new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report entitled F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future .    Released last week, the document notes that one-third of children and two-thirds of adults are now obese or overweight.   Obesity is no minor health matter.   It is linked to disease, disability, and premature death. The report received some media attention for a couple of days, but then we had our fill of it.   It faded into the news background largely because we’ve heard the story before.   No one disputes the two major causes of obesity in America.   Americans take in too many calories, and work off too few. If we accept these causes at face value, the story ends as we decide that weight is a matter of individual – not governmental – responsibility.   The individual choice argument is a powerful one for those who do not think that the government needs to “int...