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The Business of Health Care Report
Today, I want to discuss some
good news and some bad news about health insurance premiums.
First, the good
news. Although the total amount of
money spent on health care in the United States rose in 2003, a new study by the Center
for Studying Health System Change shows the rate of growth has slowed. Health care
spending for Americans not covered by government programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid,
increased by a little more than 7 percent last year, down from 9.5 percent in 2002 and
10 percent in 2001.
This leveling off of health
care spending is a good sign. The bad news is that the costs are
still outpacing inflation and remain a grave concern – especially for the millions of
Americans who can’t afford health care and for the nation’s roughly 6 million small
business owners who are struggling to maintain health care coverage for their
employees.
Last year, premiums increased
by 15.5 percent for companies with less than 199 workers, versus 13.2 percent for those
with 200 or more, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Fortunately, the increase
was less than predicted. A previous study had predicted employers would experience an 18
percent increase in health care costs from 2003 to 2004.
Nevertheless, in a state like
Texas where 46 percent of all workers are employed by small businesses, any significant
increase has a big impact. Nationally, increases in health care costs are the No. 1
concern of small business owners, according to a survey by the National Federation of
Independent Business.
Next week, I’ll discuss a
health insurance option for small business owners and their employees, known as
association health plans, currently being debated in Washington.
For Texas Health Resources
and its family of hospitals - Harris Methodist Hospitals, Presbyterian
Healthcare System and Arlington Memorial Hospital - I'm CEO
Doug Hawthorne
with "The Business of Health Care Report" on NewsRadio 1080 KRLD.
©
2004 Texas Health Resources |
I'm Doug Hawthorne, President and CEO of Texas Health Resources, with
"The Business of Health Care Report" on 