Census Bureau Releases Health Insurance Coverage Estimates

The Census Bureau today released its 2011 Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE).

The estimates show the number of people with and without health insurance for all states and each of the nation’s roughly 3,140 counties. The statistics are provided by broad age group, sex, race and Hispanic origin, and at income levels that reflect thresholds for state and federal assistance programs. The data can be used to assess annual changes in health insurance coverage from 2008 through 2011.

Affordable Care Act Saves Consumers $1.5 Billion

Consumers saw nearly $1.5 billion in insurer rebates and overhead cost savings in 2011, due to the Affordable Care Act’s medical loss ratio provision requiring health insurers to spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars on health care or quality improvement activities or pay a rebate to their customers, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report.

Consumers with individual policies saw substantially reduced premiums when insurers reduced both administrative costs and profits to meet the new standards. While insurers in the small- and large-group markets achieved lower administrative costs, not all of these savings were passed on to employers and consumers, as many insurers increased profits in these markets.

Health Care in Japan--Would it Work in the U.S.?

There is an excellent article on the Washington Post website that discusses healthcare in Japan.

Half a world away from the U.S. health-care debate, Japan has a system that costs half as much and often achieves better medical outcomes than its American counterpart. It does so by banning insurance company profits, limiting doctor fees and accepting shortcomings in care that many well-insured Americans would find intolerable.

Health care in Japan -- a hybrid system funded by job-based insurance premiums and taxes -- is universal and mandatory, and consumes about 8 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, half as much as in the United States. Unlike in the U.S. system, no one is denied coverage because of a preexisting condition or goes bankrupt because a family member gets sick.

After reading the article, I learned that the healthcare system in Japan is far from perfect. Then I thought, our system here is far from perfect, and we spend twice as much as Japan for our currently pitiful system.

I really cannot understand why we can't define the problem here. Do we want universal coverage like they have in Japan? Yes or No? If we want universal coverage why don't we limit the discussion to the best solutions to accomplish this goal? Why can't we accept that it is impossible to create a perfect system?

Politicians like to tell their constituents over and over how the U.S. is the greatest country in the world. Is this true, or are we deluding ourselves?

You cannot solve a problem until your first define the problem. Only then can you start to flesh out all the possible solutions.

We are woefully inept in this country at executing real solutions to problems. As a result, we get half-backed solutions from our politicians that result in enormous waste and lots of corruption.

It is time for this pattern of wasting tax payers dollars to end. Its time for someone to stand up, define the problem, offer a clear cut solution to the problem, and then fight like hell for what they believe in.

To read the Washington Post article go here.

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Healthcare First in Spending, Last in Relative Performance (Table)

I am wondering if many people understand that we spend twice as much on healthcare as most industrialized countries. At the same time, our world ranking in healthcare delivery is poor.

It might be interesting to note that the profits of healthcare insurance companies rose by more than 400 percent in the period 2000-2007.

During the same period, the number of people without healthcare insurance, and the cost of healthcare insurance was rising fast.

It also surprises me when I see people arguing on television that they prefer the status quo.



All information is taking from 2005 OECD data unless otherwise noted.
*2000, 2003-2005 World Health Organization Data. **2004 OECD data.
Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, World Health Organization
Analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Heath Research Institute

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