|
Updated: 1:46 PM Jan 11, 2012
Most Health Care Costs Incurred by Few Americans
Only 10 percent of the U.S. population accounted for nearly two-thirds of all health care costs in 2008, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Posted: 1:46 PM Jan 11, 2012Reporter: U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Release |
|
11 Comments 
January 11, 2012
Only 10 percent of the U.S. population accounted for nearly two-thirds of all health care costs in 2008, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The average annual cost for each of these individuals totaled almost $24,000, which includes costs covered by insurance and paid out of pocket. Approximately 45 percent of these individuals remained in this 10 percent of the population in 2009, based on their health expenses that year.
The federal agency’s analysis of the 10 percent of patients with the highest health care expenses in both 2008 and 2009 also found that:
· Nearly 60 percent of these patients were women.
· More than 40 percent of patients were age 65 or older, while those age 18 to 29 made up just 3 percent.
· More than 80 percent of patients were white, while Asians were the smallest segment at 2 percent.
The data in this AHRQ News and Numbers summary are taken from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a detailed source of information on the health services used by Americans, the frequency with which they are used, the cost of those services, and how they are paid.
Latest Comments
Well I lived through the 50s also and you are still partially stupid. Open your eyes.Yeah "suits". Lawsuit happy people forcing higher prices on everything. Hospitals and doctors afraid of large settlements against them. In the 50s if you tripped, fell and broke your arm it was your stupidity.Now it is whomever you can sue. Just look at the Hoffman case or the idiot who spilled hot coffee on their lap. So have you become one of the "entitlement" people now. Be responsible for your own actions. If you don't like your job or salary quit. Find another job or start your own business. Quit blaming others.
Profit - the kind of profit that is being made on the backs of American citizens right now -- should not be happening. When the suits came on the scene, the price of medicine went out the window. Do you realize when you have surgery on your gut there may be 3 to 4 doctors, each one divided into a section of your anatomy. If you break your heels, you may not get a "foot" doctor because there are no Heel Specialists available. I've seen that. Doctors used to see you as a whole person. Now they see you as "the arm in room 1". The "throat in room 2". Dr. Watt used to see you for 30 minutes if you had an appt. You may talk about fishing but you were seen on time and you talked to your doctor. Now you may see a doc for 3 minutes and he's gone. They are on a treadmill. Profit driven medical care has to be stopped. I have a plan that I've proposed but of course who am I. I think it would work. But -- nobody cares because it does not involve profit in the acute care setting. Our drugs are more expensive in the US than anywhere else in the world. Try that on for size!
I agree with GV. You had me also till you went "stupid". Without "profit" there aren't any new drugs nor pay raises, or new hires. shall I go on?
