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In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman explains how a recent Bureau of Economic Analysis report makes the nation’s health care spending more tangible by breaking it down by disease. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.
In this column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman explains how a recent Bureau of Economic Analysis report makes the nation’s health care spending more tangible by breaking it down by disease.
This report and related fact sheets provide data on spending, utilization, and access to care among low-income nonelderly adult Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic illnesses. Four fact sheets provide detail for beneficiaries with diabetes, respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and behavioral health conditions The reports show that, despite relatively high prevalence of chronic conditions and, correspondingly, relatively high spending and utilization rates, Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic illness report better access to care than their uninsured counterparts, many…
This analysis finds that Medicaid’s role in financing diabetes care will grow when many low-income uninsured people with diabetes become eligible for Medicaid as the program expansions under the Affordable Care Act in 2014. Adult Medicaid beneficiaries with diabetes had annual per person health expenditures more than three times higher than adult beneficiaries without the disease -- $14,229 versus $4,568, according to the study. At the same time, many uninsured adults with diabetes are less…
There is a groundswell of activity in local communities to support healthier lifestyles and help people make long-lasting and sustainable changes that can reduce their risk for chronic diseases. A number of provisions in the health reform law are aimed directly at improving population health by addressing conditions where Americans live, learn, work, and play. Public health agencies across the nation are involved in promoting healthy life styles in their communities and the U.S. Department…
Diabetes and obesity have evolved from a national public health concern to a problem of epidemic proportions — a very costly problem. The direct medical costs and the indirect costs of diabetes are estimated at $174 billion yearly. This briefing, sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the United Health Foundation, looked at the scope of the problem, and some promising solutions. For more information, please visit Alliance's event page. Full Video Speakers…
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