Health Care Expenditures Reexamined

Annals of Internal MedicinePublished 5 July 2005

Victor R. Fuchs

DOI10.7326/0003-4819-143-1-200507050-00012

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Citations19

SJR quartileQ1

SJR score3.38

SNIP3.27

TL;DR

This editorial differentiates sharply between levels of expenditures and their rates of growth, addresses the question of why either should be of concern for public policy, and discusses strategies for containing expenditures.

Abstract

Editorials5 July 2005Health Care Expenditures ReexaminedVictor R. Fuchs, PhD, MAVictor R. Fuchs, PhD, MAFrom Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-143-1-200507050-00012 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Concern about health care expenditures is not a new phenomenon. Seventy-five years ago, President Herbert Hoover appointed a committee to investigate the cost of medical care under the chairmanship of Ray Lyman Wilbur, MD, president of Stanford University (1). Thirty-eight years ago, John Gardner, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, convened a national conference on medical care costs (2). Since then, not a year has passed without professional and lay periodicals addressing this subject. Most recently, Annals has published 4 articles by Thomas Bodenheimer on health care costs, the last of which, coauthored by Alicia Fernandez, appears in this issue ...References1. Report of the Committee on Cost of Medical Care. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 1931. Google Scholar2. U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Report of the National Conference on Medical Care Costs. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 1967. Google Scholar3. Bodenheimer T. High and rising health care costs. Part 1: seeking an explanation. Ann Intern Med. 2005;142:847-54. [PMID: 15897535] LinkGoogle Scholar4. Bodenheimer T. High and rising health care costs. Part 2: technologic innovation. Ann Intern Med. 2005;142:932-7. LinkGoogle Scholar5. Bodenheimer T. High and rising health care costs. Part 3: the role of health care providers. Ann Intern Med. 2005;142:996-1002. LinkGoogle Scholar6. Bodenheimer T, Fernandez A. High and rising health care costs. Part 4: can costs be controlled while preserving quality? Ann Intern Med. 2005;143:26-31. LinkGoogle Scholar7. Reinhardt UE, Hussey PS, Anderson GF. U.S. health care spending in an international context. Health Aff (Millwood). 2004;23:10-25. [PMID: 15160799] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Fuchs VR, Hahn JS. How does Canada do it? A comparison of expenditures for physicians' services in the United States and Canada. N Engl J Med. 1990;323:884-90. [PMID: 2118594] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Redelmeier DA, Fuchs VR. Hospital expenditures in the United States and Canada. N Engl J Med. 1993;328:772-8. [PMID: 8437598] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Pear R. Medicare says ‘06 premiums will rise $11. The New York Times. 1 April 2005:A12. Google Scholar11. Fuchs VR. More variation in use of care, more flat-of-the-curve medicine. Health Affairs Web Exclusive. 2004;10.1377:104-7. CrossrefGoogle Scholar12. Kessler DP, McClellan MB. How liability law affects medical productivity. J Health Econ. 2002;21:931-55. [PMID: 12475119] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar13. Council of Economic Advisors. Economic Report of the President. Tables B-47 and B-90. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 2005. Available at www.gpoaccess.gov/eop/. Google Scholar14. Fuchs VR, Garber AM. Health and medical care.. In: Aaron HJ, Lindsay JM, Nivola PS, eds. Agenda for the Nation. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution Pr; 2003:145-81. Google Scholar15. Devlin N, Parkin D. Does NICE have a cost-effectiveness threshold and what other factors influence its decisions? A binary choice analysis. Health Econ. 2004;13:437-52. [PMID: 15127424] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar16. Emanuel EJ, Fuchs VR. Health care vouchers—a proposal for universal coverage. N Engl J Med. 2005;352:1255-60. [PMID: 15788504] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.Acknowledgments: The author thanks Ezekiel Emanuel and Alan Garber for helpful comments.Disclosures: Dr. Fuchs has received honoraria for speeches given to medical, hospital, and other health organizations.Current Author Address: Victor R. Fuchs, PhD, MA, 30 Alta Road, Stanford, CA 94305; e-mail, [email protected]stanford.edu. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoHigh and Rising Health Care Costs. Part 4: Can Costs Be Controlled While Preserving Quality? 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Economics, Econometrics and FinanceHealth Professions

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New England Journal of MedicineHospital Expenditures in the United States and Canada

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Canadian acute care hospitals have more admissions, more outpatient visits, and more inpatient days per capita than hospitals in the United States, but they spend appreciably less.

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New England Journal of MedicineHealth Care Vouchers — A Proposal for Universal Coverage

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