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"As a country, we need
to ask whether increased spending m
eans more resources for patients
or simply higher incomes
for health care providers."
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Americans pay more for healthcare per
person than citizens anywhere else in the world. |
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The prices of care, not the amount of care delivered,
are the primary difference between the United States and other countries... |
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U.S.health care costs highest in world - malpractice suits not to blame
By Kristen Gerencher - Knight Ridder Newspapers
San Francisco — Americans
pay more for health care per person than citizens anywhere else in
the world, doling out half
again as much in medical expenses each
year as the second-highest-cost country, according to a new study.
And contrary to popular belief and political rhetoric, malpractice
lawsuits have little impact on those high costs in this country. full article > |
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| Americans
Pay More for Health Care But Receive Less in Return
Americans spend considerably more money on health care services than any
other industrialized nation, but the increased expenditure does not buy
more care, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health.
They found
that the United States spent 44 percent more on health care than Switzerland,
the nation with the next highest per capita health care costs, in the
year 2000. At the same time, Americans had fewer physician visits and
hospital stays were shorter compared to most other industrialized nations.
The study suggests that the difference in spending is caused mostly by
higher prices for health care goods and services in the United States.
"As
a country, we need to ask whether increased spending means more resources
for patients or simply higher incomes for health care providers,"
said Gerard Anderson, PhD, lead study author and professor in the School's
departments of Health Policy and Management and International Health. "Policymakers
should assess exactly what Americans are getting for their greater health
care spending." full article > |
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| Per
Capita U.S. Health Care Costs Triple Canada's
The overhead cost of operating the United States health-care system is
more than three times that of running Canada's on a per capita basis,
and the gap is getting bigger, according to a study published today in
the New England Journal of Medicine.
Savings gleaned
from a national health insurance system like Canada's would be enough
to provide medical insurance for the 41 million Americans who now lack
coverage, the researchers said. full article > |
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| Health
Care Costs Top Worries
Twice as many Americans are more worried about rising health care costs
than losing their job or being the victim of a terrorist attack, according
to a new survey.
Researchers found 45 percent of American adults are "very worried"
about having to pay more for their health care or insurance, and women
are more concerned about health care issues than men.
The survey shows that worries over having to pay more for health care
topped other non-health-related concerns, such as having an income that
isn't keeping up with rising prices (40 percent), not being able to pay
rent or the mortgage (24 percent), losing money in the stock market (19
percent), being the victim of a terrorist attack (18 percent), or losing
a job (17 percent).
Sorting Out Health Care Worries
While worries over paying more for health care or insurance topped the
list of concerns, other health-related worries also ranked highly, including:
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Among
those with health insurance, more than one-third (36 percent) of adults
say they are very worried that their health plan cares more about saving
money than about what is best for them.
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More than
one-third of Americans say they are very worried about not being able
to afford the prescription drugs they need (35 percent) and about not
being able to afford health care services (34 percent).
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About
three in 10 adults are very worried about losing their insurance coverage
(30 percent of insured) and about the quality of their health care getting
worse (28 percent). full article >
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MEDWATCH
(healthcare news commentary)
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