December 18th, 2007

Bending the Curve: Options for Achieving Savings and Improving Value in U.S. Health Spending

Health spending in the United States is projected to increase from 16 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006 to 20 percent in 2016—from $2 trillion to $4 trillion in 10 years. At the same time, the number of people who are uninsured is rising sharply, including a growing proportion of middle-income families. While rising costs are putting all sectors of the economy at risk, the nation lacks a concrete, realistic plan for adopting a different approach that could achieve savings and improve value.

To inform national discussions and spur progress toward such a plan, The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System sponsored this report, which examines 15 federal policy options and their potential for lowering health spending over the next 10 years, relative to projected trends.

This study points out that some form of universal health care - not a single-payer system, mind you, but some form of universal health care - would actually save the taxpayer money due to the increased focus on prevention and the decreased reliance on emergency room care for uninsured individuals.

Quite a verbose article, but a good read nonetheless.

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