Tag: affordable care act

Economic Downturn, Not Health System Reform, Responsible For Decrease In Health Care Cost Trend

Bad economic times, and not health care reform, account for the record slowdown in U.S. health care spending, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation study, Assessing the Effects of the Economy on the Recent Slowdown in Health Spending (Study).

According to Kaiser Foundation, government statistics show that the period from 2009-2011 had the slowest growth (3.9%) in health care expenditures since the government began tracking health expenditure data in 1960.

Effective Wellness Programs Possible Despite Tight Budgets

While tight budgets preventing many businesses from investing in wellness consulting resources, a tight budget doesn’t mean your company, church, or other group can’t have a thriving wellness program. Wellness is a culture. While the resources and advice of consultants and bells and whistles can be helpful sometimes, the inability to afford them doesn’t mean that your organization or group can’t have a healthy and effective wellness program.

US Health Care Spending Growth Slows As Private Insurance Coverage Continues To Shrink Amid 2010’s Slow Economy

U.S. health care spending grew 3.9 percent in 2010 to $2.6 trillion or $8,402 per person according to the Annual Report of National Health Expenditures (NHE). The Report notes that since 2007, the economic recession and legislative changes led to a noticeable change in the shares of health care spending financed by businesses, households, and governments. Declining enrollment in private insurance resulted in continuing growth in government financing of this care. The federal government financed 29 percent of the nation’s health care spending in 2010, an increase of six percentage points from its share in 2007 of 23 percent, and reached $742.7 billion. Part of that increase came from enhanced Federal matching funds for State Medicaid programs under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act which expired in 2011. Review the details of the Report here.