KP Newsflash (10/28/2009): The Waste In US Healthcare/A Wake-Up Call 4 All!!!
I have just reviewed a press release on the Thomson Reuters Website about the challenegs in the US healthcare system. They report that the waste in the US Healthcare System amounts to a range of $ 600-$ 800 Billion per year. That's almost 30% of the aggregate healthcare expense being spent in the United States.
I think that after the widely discredited AHIP-sponsored study, this is quite refreshing to bring out the truth. The AHIP-sponsored report noted that they would see to it that the insurance rates will continue to go up. The members of the cartel and their apologists in Congress need to take note of this report. The highlights of the report are noted below:
Source: Really Long Link retrieved 10/27/2009
* Unnecessary Care (40% of healthcare waste): Unwarranted treatment, such as the over-use of antibiotics and the use of diagnostic lab tests to protect against malpractice exposure, accounts for $250 billion to $325 billion in annual healthcare spending.
* Fraud (19% of healthcare waste): Healthcare fraud costs $125 billion to $175 billion each year, manifesting itself in everything from fraudulent Medicare claims to kickbacks for referrals for unnecessary services.
* Administrative Inefficiency (17% of healthcare waste): The large volume of redundant paperwork in the U.S healthcare system accounts for $100 billion to $150 billion in spending annually.
* Healthcare Provider Errors (12% of healthcare waste): Medical mistakes account for $75 billion to $100 billion in unnecessary spending each year.
* Preventable Conditions (6% of healthcare waste): Approximately $25 billion to $50 billion is spent annually on hospitalizations to address conditions such as uncontrolled diabetes, which are much less costly to treat when individuals receive timely access to outpatient care.
* Lack of Care Coordination (6% of healthcare waste): Inefficient communication between providers, including lack of access to medical records when specialists intervene, leads to duplication of tests and inappropriate treatments that cost $25 billion to $50 billion annually.
It seems to me that just this should prompt so-called conservatives to get with the program. Maybe those of us who are on the firing line everyday expect too much from our so-called leaders.
I think that after the widely discredited AHIP-sponsored study, this is quite refreshing to bring out the truth. The AHIP-sponsored report noted that they would see to it that the insurance rates will continue to go up. The members of the cartel and their apologists in Congress need to take note of this report. The highlights of the report are noted below:
Source: Really Long Link retrieved 10/27/2009
* Unnecessary Care (40% of healthcare waste): Unwarranted treatment, such as the over-use of antibiotics and the use of diagnostic lab tests to protect against malpractice exposure, accounts for $250 billion to $325 billion in annual healthcare spending.
* Fraud (19% of healthcare waste): Healthcare fraud costs $125 billion to $175 billion each year, manifesting itself in everything from fraudulent Medicare claims to kickbacks for referrals for unnecessary services.
* Administrative Inefficiency (17% of healthcare waste): The large volume of redundant paperwork in the U.S healthcare system accounts for $100 billion to $150 billion in spending annually.
* Healthcare Provider Errors (12% of healthcare waste): Medical mistakes account for $75 billion to $100 billion in unnecessary spending each year.
* Preventable Conditions (6% of healthcare waste): Approximately $25 billion to $50 billion is spent annually on hospitalizations to address conditions such as uncontrolled diabetes, which are much less costly to treat when individuals receive timely access to outpatient care.
It seems to me that just this should prompt so-called conservatives to get with the program. Maybe those of us who are on the firing line everyday expect too much from our so-called leaders.
Mike Pouraryan
