StrataGist
Local Perspectives On National Trends (Southern Oregon)
Health Care Spending
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), national health spending was projected to be $2.4 trillion in 2008 and forecast to grow more rapidly than the gross domestic product through 2009. If the current trend continues, national health expenditures are forecast to reach $4.4 trillion by 2018.[1]
The Nation
A Harvard University study cited by the National Coalition on Health Care reports that individuals filing for bankruptcy had average out-of-pocket medical debt of $12,000. More than two-thirds of the filers had health insurance.
A recent CMS report published by Health Affairs projected negative growth in private health insurance and out-of-pocket payments for 2008 (5.3%) and 2009 (3.9%) compared with the 2007 level of 5.8%. National data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey indicated a relatively small change in the percentage of persons incurring out-of-pocket expenses (less than 2% variance) from 2000 through 2005. Categories included expenditures for dental, home health, inpatient hospital, non-physician, and physician services, as well as medical equipment, prescribed medicines, and supplies. Expenditures for alternate care, insurance premiums, over-the-counter medications, and other categories were not included.[2]
The percentage of persons with no out-of-pocket expenses ranged from 6.9% in 2000 to 8.8% in 2004 and 8.7% in 2005. Approximately one-third of people (32.4%) reported out-of-pocket spending of $100 to $499 in 2005, compared with 22.7% who spent $1 to $99 and 15.4% who expended $500 to $999. Another 11.5% spent $1,000 to $1,999, and 9.4% expended $2,000 or more.
In July 2009, the National Institutes of Health announced selected findings from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The headline highlighted the nearly $34 billion out-of-pocket expenditures made by Americans for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in 2007. CAM spending represented approximately 1.5% of total health care expenditures ($2.2 trillion) for the year. Conventional out-of-pocket expenditures were $287 billion.[3]
The Rogue Valley Market (Southern Oregon)
A New York Times / CBS News poll was conducted with 895 American adults in June 2009 to evaluate their opinions regarding proposed changes to U.S. health care system. An estimated 85% believed changes were needed, even though 77% expressed satisfaction with the quality of care they were already receiving.
Feed-back.com staff conducted informal surveys with 13 individuals in front of three stores or pharmacies in Ashland, Medford, and Talent, Oregon. The goal was to:
- Identify what consumers were spending out-of-pocket for health, medical, and/or nutritional products
- Determine annual out-of-pocket expenditures
- Obtain opinions about who should pay for health care and what changes should be made to the U.S. health care system
Nine participants had purchased a health, nutritional, or "similar" products, seven of whom purchased the products on a regular basis. A separate cohort of nine respondents purchased products their doctors had recommended. Nine other survey participants estimated the amount they spent annually on health products, which ranged from a low of $100 to a high of $20,000.
Nearly all of the survey participants (92%) had an opinion to express about improving the U.S. health care system. Seven respondents felt that employers or insurers should pay in full for health products, while two felt partial payment would be appropriate. Opinions varied considerably regarding the most important change needed to improve the U.S. health care system, as shown below.
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[1] "National Health Expenditure Projections, 2008-2018," Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2008.
[2] "Health, United States, 2008," National Center for Health Statistics, March 2009.
[3] " Americans Spent $33.9 Billion Out-of-Pocket on Complementary and Alternative Medicine,", National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, July 30, 2009.
