The American Health Care Industry Faces More Challenges than Ever, 11-9-2007
Particularly in the U.S., continuous increases in the cost of health care, growing at rates far exceeding the rate of inflation in general, are hammering health consumers and payors of all types. Managed care providers continue to struggle to contain costs. Meanwhile, employers are hit hard by vast increases in the cost of providing coverage to employees and retirees. A number of factors contribute to these challenges, all of which are contained in a recent report by Plunkett Research, Ltd., but only a selection of which are represented here:
• While the advent of managed care appeared to tame health care cost inflation during the early and mid-1990s, costs have been rising very rapidly since then.
• The number of Americans who are underinsured or are without any type of insurance coverage at all remains staggering at more than 43 million.
• The U.S. population is aging rapidly. At the same time, the life expectancy of seniors is extending. Senior citizens will place a significant strain on the health care system in coming years. America’s 78 million Baby Boomers begin turning 65 in 2011.
• The future obligations of Medicare and Medicaid are enough to cause vast problems for the federal budget for decades to come. Reforms are vital. Meanwhile, the number of seniors covered by Medicare will continue to grow at an exceedingly high rate, from 43.3 million people in 2007 to 78.0 million in 2030. The recent addition of Medicare prescription coverage will add to this government program’s financial challenges.
• Likewise, costs for Medicaid, which is administered at the state level, have grown so rapidly that they are decimating state budgets and causing cuts in education and other vital services.
To find out more about these exciting trends and others, check out Plunkett’s Health Care Industry Almanac 2008, or go to www.plunkettresearch.com and sign up for a subscription to Plunkett’s completely up-to-date online database!
About Plunkett Research, Ltd.
Plunkett Research, Ltd. is a leading publisher of complete business research and analysis resources designed to enable professionals in marketing, research and finance to access complete trends analysis, statistics, technology analysis and financial analysis of the world’s most exciting industries. For more information, visit www.plunkettresearch.com, or call 713.932.0000.