This research article by David Auerbach and Arthur Kellermann was very informative, but it made me feel a little bit discouraged and alarmed at the same time about the current state and future of health care in America.
My favorite section of the paper comes from "Is The Rising Burden Worth Bearing?"-- the take-home message here is, I think, that the greater intensity of health services (diagnostic imaging and health technologies) delivered from 1999 to 2009 didn't exactly lead to significant improvements in terms of life expectancy and rate of amenable mortality (deaths from readily treatable conditions).
But I'm glad that the authors took the time to point out positive attributes that occurred as a result of medicine becoming more sophisticated (e.g. new drugs/treatments, job creation in multiple sectors). So in some ways, the increase in intensity isn't necessarily in vain...
I also found this article informative and it actually made me kind of angry. In the last several years, I have seen my employer-sponsored health plan premium go up significantly while the benefits the plan offers have been whittled away. I have also in that time seen my actual income stagnate and fall with wage freezes and furloughs. So, while I knew on some level that my health care costs were taking a bigger bite out of my income, it really irked me to see an actual number put to it.
From a broader perspective, though, this is clearly a sign that something has to change. Just this week, the Census Bureau released data showing that more Americans are in poverty and that their incomes have declined for another consecutive year, two factors closely tied with health and access to care. Although the figures didn't show a statistically significant change in the percentage of people who are uninsured, they did show that the number of people who were uninsured went up and that more people were covered by public, rather than private, health insurance. (Incidentally, next week the Census Bureau will release more local-level data on poverty, income and health insurance, and I'm curious to see what they'll show.)
The question of whether these continually rising costs are worth bearing must be addressed. Are we at a point of diminishing returns? And should the capitalist principles that have shaped our health care system continue to outweigh the health and well-being of individuals and communities?
This research article by David Auerbach and Arthur Kellermann was very informative, but it made me feel a little bit discouraged and alarmed at the same time about the current state and future of health care in America.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite section of the paper comes from "Is The Rising Burden Worth Bearing?"-- the take-home message here is, I think, that the greater intensity of health services (diagnostic imaging and health technologies) delivered from 1999 to 2009 didn't exactly lead to significant improvements in terms of life expectancy and rate of amenable mortality (deaths from readily treatable conditions).
But I'm glad that the authors took the time to point out positive attributes that occurred as a result of medicine becoming more sophisticated (e.g. new drugs/treatments, job creation in multiple sectors). So in some ways, the increase in intensity isn't necessarily in vain...
I also found this article informative and it actually made me kind of angry. In the last several years, I have seen my employer-sponsored health plan premium go up significantly while the benefits the plan offers have been whittled away. I have also in that time seen my actual income stagnate and fall with wage freezes and furloughs. So, while I knew on some level that my health care costs were taking a bigger bite out of my income, it really irked me to see an actual number put to it.
ReplyDeleteFrom a broader perspective, though, this is clearly a sign that something has to change. Just this week, the Census Bureau released data showing that more Americans are in poverty and that their incomes have declined for another consecutive year, two factors closely tied with health and access to care. Although the figures didn't show a statistically significant change in the percentage of people who are uninsured, they did show that the number of people who were uninsured went up and that more people were covered by public, rather than private, health insurance. (Incidentally, next week the Census Bureau will release more local-level data on poverty, income and health insurance, and I'm curious to see what they'll show.)
The question of whether these continually rising costs are worth bearing must be addressed. Are we at a point of diminishing returns? And should the capitalist principles that have shaped our health care system continue to outweigh the health and well-being of individuals and communities?