Health Care Reform in America

The Stats 47 million people in the US do not have health insurance 792,000 people in CO do not have insurance – 1/5 of the state’s population!

Healthcare Economics: Terms to Know $Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - the total market value of all final goods and services produced in a country in a given year  U.S. healthcare spending = 15.2% of the GDP $Opportunity Cost - the cost of an alternative that must be foregone in order to pursue another action  Ex. Affordable healthcare for all Americans will be expensive $Scarcity - the tension between our limited resources and our unlimited wants and needs

Health Care Costs

Government Programs 27.8% of Americans (83 million) are covered by government health care programs Federal law mandates public access to emergency services regardless of ability to pay Public Programs: 1.Medicaid 2.Medicare 3.Other programs: State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), military system, veterans affairs

Medicare insurance for citizens over 65 No means test (to determine if an individual can pay a portion of their debt) partially funded by payroll taxes a.k.a. F.I.C.A. tax

Medicaid For low income adults, children, and people with certain disabilities Means test required Jointly funded by the states and the federal government, but administered by the states About 60% of the poor are not covered by Medicaid

Growth in Healthcare Spending: Health Care Spending as Percentage of GDP

Average Percentage Increase in Health Insurance Premiums Compared to Other Indicators

World Health Report (2000) The World Health Organization ranked 191 countries regarding healthcare issues The U.S. ranks #1 in costs The U.S. ranks #1 in responsiveness U.S. #37 in overall performance U.S. #72 in overall level of health #29 in life expectancy Source:

National Healthcare Quality Report (2008) The Commonwealth Fund ranked 19 developed countries regarding healthcare issues The U.S. ranks last in terms of quality of health care The U.S. #1 in medical innovation (producing new drugs medical devices, biotechnology) U.S. had higher survival rates for many diseases including several kinds of cancer U.S. had higher infant mortality rates than most other developed countries Source:

More Healthcare Facts from the Office of Management & Budget Less than 4 cents of every health care $ is spent on preventative care – More money is spent on acute rather then preventative care The U.S. spends over $2.2 trillion on health care each year–almost $8000 per person. – This is more then is spent on food each year Health insurance premiums have doubled in the last 8 years, rising 3.7 times faster than wages One fourth of all medical spending goes to administrative and overhead costs Source:

So....what do these stats mean? 1.Based on the data presented, what are the major strengths of healthcare in the United States today? 2.What are major weaknesses of the U.S. healthcare system? 3.What conclusions can you draw about U.S. healthcare relative to other countries?