Our Health Policy Matters

On August 7, 2012, Allen Daniel Hicks, Sr., died of a stroke.  The Hillsborough County FL resident was 51 years old.  At the time of his death, he was coaching Little Leaguers. It is a tragedy to lose someone so young to a stroke, but it is not uncommon.  And race matters with strokes. According to the Office of Minority Health at the Department of Health and Human Services , African Americans are 60 percent more likely to have a stroke than their white counterparts.  And African American men like Mr. Hicks are also 60 percent more likely to die from a stroke than are white men. But Allen Hicks’s death was especially tragic because the circumstances surrounding it eerily echo those surrounding the death of a young black woman named Anna Brown a year earlier and 1000 miles away. Both died from blood clots.  Mr. Hicks’ was in his brain; Ms. Brown’s was in her lungs.  Both died young and left children behind.  Both suffered from pain a...

On August 7, 2012, Allen Daniel Hicks, Sr., died of a stroke.  The Hillsborough County FL resident was 51 years old.  At the time of his death, he was coaching Little Leaguers. It is a tragedy to lose someone so young to a stroke, but it is not uncommon.  And race matters with strokes. According to the Office of Minority Health at the Department of Health and Human Services , African Americans are 60 percent more likely to have a stroke than their white counterparts.  And African American men like Mr. Hicks are also 60 percent more likely to die from a stroke than are white men. But Allen Hicks’s death was especially tragic because the circumstances surrounding it eerily echo those surrounding the death of a young black woman named Anna Brown a year earlier and 1000 miles away. Both died from blood clots.  Mr. Hicks’ was in his brain; Ms. Brown’s was in her lungs.  Both died young and left children behind.  Both suffered from pain a...

You would expect Medicare to spend about the same for a man with heart, lung, or kidney disease as it does for a woman.  And if you looked at the actual numbers, you would not be surprised.  On average, it does.  So why does Medicare spend so much more on men when you couple these disease with depression? That is a question that deserves an answer. The startling numbers, which show just how wide the disparity is, are in the chart accompanying this column.  They are very similar to some others that I shared in my column last week . They all come from the 2010 CMS Medicare public use data files , the most recent ones available.  The CMS file includes information on all 48 million Medicare recipients.  Last week, I wrote that men with depression in the 65-69 year old age group enjoyed an 11% Medicare spending advantage over women in the same age group.  (The men were those on Medicare only, not both Medicare and Medicaid.)  I als...

You would expect Medicare to spend about the same for a man with heart, lung, or kidney disease as it does for a woman.  And if you looked at the actual numbers, you would not be surprised.  On average, it does.  So why does Medicare spend so much more on men when you couple these disease with depression? That is a question that deserves an answer. The startling numbers, which show just how wide the disparity is, are in the chart accompanying this column.  They are very similar to some others that I shared in my column last week . They all come from the 2010 CMS Medicare public use data files , the most recent ones available.  The CMS file includes information on all 48 million Medicare recipients.  Last week, I wrote that men with depression in the 65-69 year old age group enjoyed an 11% Medicare spending advantage over women in the same age group.  (The men were those on Medicare only, not both Medicare and Medicaid.)  I als...

Are women with depression more stoic than men, or are men just getting preferential treatment? According to the National Institute on Mental Health, women are 70 percent more likely than men to experience depression during their lifetime.  Depression hits women harder than men in nearly every age group. But if some fascinating data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are any indication, we also spend a lot less on treating them than we do men.    Are women more stoic, or are we just neglecting their mental health needs? The data that shed some disturbing light on this subject come from the CMS Chronic Conditions Public Use Files .  These files include data for every 2010 Medicare beneficiary – approximately 48 million people. In 2010, according to the CMS data, 9296 men between the ages of 65 and 69 who were newly-enrolled in Medicare Part B had depression and no other chronic condition.  And so did many more newly-enroll...

Are women with depression more stoic than men, or are men just getting preferential treatment? According to the National Institute on Mental Health, women are 70 percent more likely than men to experience depression during their lifetime.  Depression hits women harder than men in nearly every age group. But if some fascinating data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are any indication, we also spend a lot less on treating them than we do men.    Are women more stoic, or are we just neglecting their mental health needs? The data that shed some disturbing light on this subject come from the CMS Chronic Conditions Public Use Files .  These files include data for every 2010 Medicare beneficiary – approximately 48 million people. In 2010, according to the CMS data, 9296 men between the ages of 65 and 69 who were newly-enrolled in Medicare Part B had depression and no other chronic condition.  And so did many more newly-enroll...

Implementing health reform in the states is a governmental responsibility.   But Kaiser Health News reported this week that states are turning to foundations to help them with the costs of implementing these reforms.   Financing governmental duties has not traditionally been the role of a foundation.   Governmental programs should be implemented efficiently, but asking foundations to pay for this implementation is drawing dollars away from the most important work of foundations. This important work involves investing resources in promising initiatives that aren’t yet “government ready.”   Foundations are uniquely equipped to provide seed funding to experimental and innovative programs before they are ready for governmental action. On the other hand, funding governmental obligations leads to two unintended consequences.   First, it relieves governments of their obligation to justify to the public the expenditures they need to make to implement their prog...

Implementing health reform in the states is a governmental responsibility.   But Kaiser Health News reported this week that states are turning to foundations to help them with the costs of implementing these reforms.   Financing governmental duties has not traditionally been the role of a foundation.   Governmental programs should be implemented efficiently, but asking foundations to pay for this implementation is drawing dollars away from the most important work of foundations. This important work involves investing resources in promising initiatives that aren’t yet “government ready.”   Foundations are uniquely equipped to provide seed funding to experimental and innovative programs before they are ready for governmental action. On the other hand, funding governmental obligations leads to two unintended consequences.   First, it relieves governments of their obligation to justify to the public the expenditures they need to make to implement their prog...