Nighthawk62
Member
- Nov 20, 2010
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"Thats because 20 percent of patients account for 80 percent of spending, and that 20 percent is made up mostly of the chronically ill."
Indeed, perhaps the most significant reason Americans are drowning in health care debt may shock you: Americans are getting far too much unnecessary care. Of our total $2.3 trillion health care bill last year, a whopping $500 billion to $700 billion (30%) was spent on treatments, tests, and hospitalizations that did nothing to improve our health. Even worse, new evidence suggests that too much health care may actually be killing us.
Even as millions arent getting treatments they vitally need, a leading medical journalist argues that the main culprit in the soaring cost of American health care is actually overtreatment and all that extra care is making us very sick.
$500 BILLION: The amount that Americans spend annually on unnecessary care.
30,000: The number of Medicare recipients who die each year as a result of unneeded care.
50%: The portion of surgeries, tests, and procedures that are not backed by scientific evidence.
Consumers arent shopping wisely. The moral-hazard argument says that because people dont pay out of pocket, they use more-expensive health care than necessary. Moral hazard says we go to the doctor when we dont really need to; we insist on getting a CT scan for a twisted ankle when ice and an Ace bandage will do. Experts will tell you that as many as one in four doctors-office visits are social calls, and nearly half of emergency room visits are for care that could have been handled in a nonemergency setting. But even this argument doesnt explain why health care costs so much. Thats because 20 percent of patients account for 80 percent of spending, and that 20 percent is made up mostly of the chronically ill. These patients are often sick with multiple conditionssuch as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressureand more than half of the money we devote to caring for them is spent when they are in the hospital. People who are sick enough to be hospitalized are generally too ill to be insisting on certain tests or procedures.
Indeed, perhaps the most significant reason Americans are drowning in health care debt may shock you: Americans are getting far too much unnecessary care. Of our total $2.3 trillion health care bill last year, a whopping $500 billion to $700 billion was spent on treatments, tests, and hospitalizations that did nothing to improve our health. Even worse, new evidence suggests that too much health care may actually be killing us.
According to estimates by Elliott Fisher, M.D., a noted Dartmouth researcher, unnecessary care leads to the deaths of as many as 30,000 Medicare recipients annually.
Source: AARP Magazine
Indeed, perhaps the most significant reason Americans are drowning in health care debt may shock you: Americans are getting far too much unnecessary care. Of our total $2.3 trillion health care bill last year, a whopping $500 billion to $700 billion (30%) was spent on treatments, tests, and hospitalizations that did nothing to improve our health. Even worse, new evidence suggests that too much health care may actually be killing us.
Even as millions arent getting treatments they vitally need, a leading medical journalist argues that the main culprit in the soaring cost of American health care is actually overtreatment and all that extra care is making us very sick.
$500 BILLION: The amount that Americans spend annually on unnecessary care.
30,000: The number of Medicare recipients who die each year as a result of unneeded care.
50%: The portion of surgeries, tests, and procedures that are not backed by scientific evidence.
Consumers arent shopping wisely. The moral-hazard argument says that because people dont pay out of pocket, they use more-expensive health care than necessary. Moral hazard says we go to the doctor when we dont really need to; we insist on getting a CT scan for a twisted ankle when ice and an Ace bandage will do. Experts will tell you that as many as one in four doctors-office visits are social calls, and nearly half of emergency room visits are for care that could have been handled in a nonemergency setting. But even this argument doesnt explain why health care costs so much. Thats because 20 percent of patients account for 80 percent of spending, and that 20 percent is made up mostly of the chronically ill. These patients are often sick with multiple conditionssuch as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressureand more than half of the money we devote to caring for them is spent when they are in the hospital. People who are sick enough to be hospitalized are generally too ill to be insisting on certain tests or procedures.
Indeed, perhaps the most significant reason Americans are drowning in health care debt may shock you: Americans are getting far too much unnecessary care. Of our total $2.3 trillion health care bill last year, a whopping $500 billion to $700 billion was spent on treatments, tests, and hospitalizations that did nothing to improve our health. Even worse, new evidence suggests that too much health care may actually be killing us.
According to estimates by Elliott Fisher, M.D., a noted Dartmouth researcher, unnecessary care leads to the deaths of as many as 30,000 Medicare recipients annually.
Source: AARP Magazine
