Posted on Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 1 p.m.
Ann Arbor's Thomson Reuters pegs national health care waste at $850B
By Paula Gardner
A new report - coming out as national health care reform now heads to the U.S. Senate - details the massive waste in the industry.
As reported in Business Review West Michigan, "In estimating the cost of waste in health care in America, Bob Kelley wanted to bring the issue to the forefront at a critical time."
Kelly, vice president of health care analytics at Thomson Reuters in Ann Arbor, says national health care waste is up to $850 billion per year - or one-third of the annual U.S. health care bill.
According to the article, the waste stems from a variety of activities: unnecessary care, fraud, administrative inefficiency, medical errors, lack of care coordination and preventable health conditions.
Read the full article, a Q&A, here.
Comments
Basic Bob
Tue, Nov 10, 2009 : 8:49 a.m.
@rebbapragada - Hospitals overprice their services because they know the insurance companies and Medicare will demand discounts and pay slowly, plus they need to cover the costs of indigent or non-paying patients. The government, insurance companies, and competition also require expensive technology upgrades. Allowing big health insurance companies and big government to manage patient care is not working - in an effort to reduce waste and fraud, they just generate different waste and fraud.
The Picker
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 7:28 p.m.
David, I believe there are provisions in the new health care bill for B.D.S. it seems you're still suffering. Remember: If you can't afford health care now,wait until it's free!
redeye
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 6:13 p.m.
I think the idea of heath insurance is fundamentally broken. People pay for years and get almost nothing back. So when they get a chance to spend some of the money they've been paying in, they have very little incentive to be frugal about it. The insurance companies know this, and fight to collect as much as they can and to pay out as little as possible, respecting their customers' heath about as much as their customers respect the insurance company's bottom lines. So the system basically depends on cooperation between two sides who hate each other. Market forces could make this work. If people chose their own insurance, insurance companies would have to pay out as much as the could while still making a small profit. The ones that didn't wouldn't have any customers. But almost nobody really chooses their insurance company anymore. You're just stuck with whatever your employer chose. So the system is broken.
whodat
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 4:13 p.m.
I've seen estimates that Medicare loses $60B annualy due to fraud. Maybe if the government spends more on fraud prevention, like the private insurers do, that number would fall.
David Briegel
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 3:35 p.m.
And in the 8 years of the Bush administration serious cuts were made in the enforcement of all govt regulations for fraud and tax evasion as a favor to the white collar criminals and to "shrink the size of government by starving the beast"! Nary a peep from anyone. Always enough money for the Perpetual War Profiteers though. Ironic?
81wolverine
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 2:13 p.m.
That number is completely believable. Right now, the "system" is built too much on diagnosis and treatment of diseases and conditions AFTER they've occurred. There's not nearly enough emphasis and money put into prevention. Also, there is almost no incentive or controls in place now for health providers to contain costs and pricing. They just keep raising prices expecting that the insurance companies and medicare/medicaid will keep footing the bill. This endless cycle of spiraling costs must be ended and reversed, otherwise the country will go bankrupt.
treetowncartel
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 1:43 p.m.
Top Cat, there are several ways on the books to prevent it, put in place by administrations from years back. The problem is that it was allowed to become this cassh cow which the people sheparding are unable to herd. Remember, doctors used to come to you when you neeeded them, now you go them when they remind you.