HEALTHCARE COSTS SLOWING BUT STILL OUTPACE INFLATION

The price of healthcare in the United States is expected to increase 11.3 percent for employers in 2005, slightly lower than last year’s 12.3 percent jump, according to the consulting services firm Hewitt Associates.

Although spiking healthcare costs continue to burden employers and their workers, most large companies will absorb most of the rate hikes, says Hewitt.

Employers are struggling with the double-digit increases but many have changed the healthcare plans they offer by raising co-payments, deductibles and out-of-pocket limits, as well as increasing employees’ share of healthcare premiums.

According to Hewitt, the average employee contribution for 2005 will be $1,481, representing 19 percent of the overall healthcare premium and up from $1,288 in 2004.

Employers also are using cost savings initiatives—such as disease management and wellness programs and expanding consumer-driven healthcare plans—to reduce costs. Although costs are expected to continue to rise rapidly, cost-saving measures are “beginning to bear fruit in terms of reducing hospitalization costs, helping to stabilize prescription drug costs and driving more effective utilization,” says Jack Bruner, the national healthcare practice leader for Hewitt.

U.S. HEALTHCARE SYSTEM LAGGING OTHER COUNTRIES

In a survey comparing healthcare in five countries, the United States “stands out for its relatively poor performance,” according to researchers who conducted the study for the Commonwealth Fund. “Primary Care and Health System Performance: Adults’ Experiences in Five Countries” examined healthcare systems in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Researchers found that with the exception of preventive measures, the U.S. primary care system ranked either last or significantly lower than the leaders on almost all dimensions of patient-centered care: access, coordination and physician-patient experiences.

These findings stand in stark contrast to healthcare spending rates in the United States that outstrip those of the rest of the world. The United States had the highest costs, the United Kingdom the least. Other countries’ performance indicates that it is possible to do better, say researchers.

More than a quarter of Americans (both insured and uninsured) spent more than $1,000 out of pocket on healthcare in the past year, far exceeding expense burdens in the other countries.

MANY CONSUMERS WORRY ABOUT SAFETY OF HEALTHCARE

Five years after a groundbreaking Institute of Medicine report focused attention on medical errors in hospitals, Americans say they do not believe that the nation’s quality of care has improved.

Forty percent of those in a new poll say the quality of healthcare has worsened in the past five years, while 17 percent say the quality of care has gotten better and 38 percent say it has stayed the same, according to a survey by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Harvard School of Public Health.

The survey also finds that nearly half (48 percent) of U.S. residents say they are concerned about the safety of the medical care they and their families receive. The survey also suggests that significant numbers of Americans have taken precautions to reduce the risks of experiencing a medical error when seeking treatment. For example,

37 percent say they consulted their doctor about the hospital they use.

“This survey shows that the challenge is not just to improve patient safety, but to convince the public that real progress is being made,” Kaiser Family Foundation president Drew Altman says.

LEAPFROG FINDS DISPARITY IN PATIENT SAFETY PRACTICES

A survey by the Leapfrog Group reveals a wide variation in practices to protect patients from harm. The Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey, a national rating system, examines measures that cover safety practices endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF).

Survey data from more than 1,000 hospitals reveal significant new findings about the state of healthcare quality and safety in the nation’s hospitals. A considerable portion of the survey asks hospitals about their awareness, accountability, ability and action on NQF practices.

Many hospitals have begun to implement the safety practices. The survey found that eight in 10 hospitals have implemented procedures to avoid wrong-site surgeries, and seven in 10 hospitals require a pharmacist to review all medication orders before medication is given to patients.

However, hospitals still have significant progress to make. Seven in 10 report that they do not have proper procedures in place to ensure adequate nursing staff, and four in 10 lack policies requiring workers to wash their hands with disinfectant before and after seeing a patient. For more information, visit www.leapfroggroup.org.