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COMMON CONDITIONS, RISE IN COST PER CASE INFLATE SPENDING
Healthcare spending rose nearly $200 billion between 1987 and 2000, thanks in part to a rise in the number of people treated for chronic conditions, according to a study that appears in the journal Health Affairs.
Between 1987 and 2000, the 15 most expensive medical conditions were heart disease, mental disorders, lung conditions, cancer, trauma, hypertension, diabetes, back problems, arthritis, stroke, skin disorders, pneumonia, infectious disease, endocrine disorders and kidney disease. In eight of the top 15 conditions, the authors found that a rise in the cost per treated case—rather than rising numbers of cases treated—accounted for most of the growth in spending.
“If we really want to get a handle on rising healthcare costs, we need to analyze what it is we’re spending money on, instead of where we’re spending the money,” says lead author and Emory University economist Kenneth Thorpe. “By focusing on a disease-based analysis of spending, we can compare the medical benefits we are purchasing,” he adds.
EMPLOYER-SPONSORED HEALTH PREMIUMS UP 11 PERCENT IN 2004
The cost of employer-sponsored health insurance increased an average of 11 percent in 2004—the fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth, according to the 2004 Annual Employer Health Benefits Survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust.
This year, premiums reached an average of $9,950 annually for family coverage ($829 per month) and $3,695 ($308 per month) for single coverage, according to the survey. In 2004, family premiums for PPOs, which cover most workers, rose to $10,217 annually ($851 per month), up significantly from $9,317 annually ($776 per month) in 2003. Since 2001, premiums for family coverage have risen 59 percent. In 2004, more than half of all workers (61 percent) got their health coverage from their employer.
CENSUS BUREAU: RANKS OF UNINSURED RISE FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR
“The increase in the number of people without health coverage is the direct result of a stagnant economy, double-digit healthcare cost increases, and employers passing on more and more of those costs to their workers,” notes Kathleen Stoll, health policy director for Families USA, a nonprofit group dedicated to winning high-quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans.
SOFT DRINKS INCREASE DIABETES RISK IN WOMEN, STUDY FINDS
A study in the journal of the american medical Association found that women who consumed high amounts of sugary beverages had a greater magnitude of weight gain and a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital conducted an eight-year study surveying more than 91,000 participants between 1991 and 1999. Women who reported drinking sugar-sweetened sodas more than once a day showed an increased risk for type 2 diabetes of more than 80 percent, compared to women in the study who drank less than one per month, independent of lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol, physical activity and diet. Those who drank more than one fruit punch per day showed a nearly doubled risk for type 2 diabetes, compared to those in the study who reported drinking less than one per month.
The researchers also assessed intake of fruit juice (orange, pineapple or apple juice) and found no increased risk for type 2 diabetes. The findings appear in the Aug. 25, 2004 issue of JAMA.
MEDICARE PREMIUMS TO INCREASE BY 17 PERCENT IN 2005
