Currently, health spending in the U.S. is predicted to increase from $2 trillion to more than $4 trillion over the next 10 years, and to consume one of every five dollars of national income, as increases outpace income growth by a wide margin. According to the report’s estimates, it is possible to curb health care spending by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years, and to simultaneously enhance the overall performance of the health care system.

The sooner policy changes addressed at reducing spending are enacted, the greater the cumulative savings for families, businesses, and public health insurance programs. In fact, even modest changes can quickly add up to billions of dollars.

However, in order to see real savings and higher value, policies must address overall health system costs and not simply shift cost from one part of the system to another.

Examples of Savings Over 10 Years:

Promoting Health Information Technology

With an initial increase in investment, $88 billion could be saved by accelerating health care providers’ adoption of health information technology to allow them to share patient health information with other providers involved in the patient’s care.

Center for Medical Effectiveness and Health Care Decision-Making

Investing in the knowledge needed to improve health care decision-making; incorporating information about relative clinical and cost effectiveness into insurance benefit design; and including incentives for providers, payers and consumers to use this information could save an estimated $368 billion over 10 years.

• Public Health—Reducing Obesity

 Increasing federal taxes on sugared soft drinks by one cent per 12-ounce drink, with revenues to support national and state obesity programs, could yield an estimated $283 billion savings over 10 years.

• Strengthen Primary Care and Care Coordination

A “medical home” approach, including improving Medicare reimbursements to primary care physician practices to support enhanced primary care services such as care coordination, chronic care management, and easy access to care, could result in net health system savings of $194 billion over 10 years if all Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries were enrolled. Estimated national savings would be larger if this approach were adopted by all payers.

Click to access senate_testimony_davis_03122008.pdf

 

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Join Motherhealth in coming out soon mobile health application that will reduce health care costs where:

• patient health info can be shared with other care providers for prompt and integrated health care response
• patient-centric care matching of clients with providers with 24-hr response time
• standardize in home care costs and quality monitoring
• empowered provider-client coordination for improved chronic health care management and monitoring
• curated health care info to help insurance companies review their reimbursement policies (provide more wellness reimbursements for the healthy, motivate consumers thru rewards for healthy living and more)

Email motherhealth@gmail.com to participate in the app to promote Health IT (web and mobile app).