Friday, August 07, 2015

Health Care Costs to Rise Again : Third Party Failures

Bottom line for heath care spending is, if the control of our health care stays in the hands of bureaucrats, heath care will become more expensive and the quality will decline. If this conclusion is actuate, why do so many among us still vote for disintegrating heath care?

The biggest problem with their conclusion here is that the economy is expected to expand into the future, but that conclusion is seen as inconclusive. The economy is not expanding as we speak, it is actually in decline, and if another progressive democrat is elected in 2016, the economy is will decline even further then it is today.

Another chance for us to change the course of this disaster will come next year, November 2016, and maybe our last, so failing to understand the source of our heath care decline will be our ultimate demise, and it won't be just our health care, but our entire country as it was founded.

The Cost Of Over Insurance: National Health Expenditures Rising Again
Source: John R. Graham, "The Cost Of Over Insurance: National Health Expenditures Rising Again," Forbes, August 3, 2015.

August 6, 2015

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have released their estimates of national health spending for 2014 through 2024.

"Health spending growth in the United States is projected to average 5.8 percent for 2014-24, reflecting the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) coverage expansions, faster economic growth and population aging. Recent historically low growth rates in the use of medical goods and services, as well as medical prices, are expected to gradually increase. The health share of U.S. gross domestic product is projected to rise from 17.4 percent in 2013 to 19.6 percent in 2024."

The ACA has increased health spending with only marginal improvement in access to care. However, the population continues to age and statisticians also take into account the positive relationship between economic growth and health spending. They expect the economy to be relatively strong over the next decade, and estimate the rate of growth of health spending will exceed the rate of growth of Gross Domestic Product by only 1.1 percent.

Yet, American patients still do not control enough of our health spending directly to have an impact on national health expenditures. There is evidence that allowing patients to control more health dollars directly reduces costs and does not harm most patients. This has led to increased adoption of consumer-driven plans in the employer-based market. Remarkably, plans that are eligible to be paired with Health Savings Accounts are widely available in Obamacare's exchanges, says senior fellow John R. Graham of the National Center for Policy Analysis.

However, despite their successes, consumer-driven plans have not increased the share of health spending controlled directly by patients. U.S. health care will continue to suffer from a crisis over insurance. As long as patients continue to lose control of their health dollars to third-party bureaucracies, health care will be plagued with inefficiency and rising costs.
 

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