Studies and Whitepapers
2008 America's Health Rankings
For 19 years, America’s Health Rankings™ has provided an annual analysis of national health on a state-by-state basis. The longest running report of its kind, America’s Health Rankings™ evaluates a historical and comprehensive set of health, environmental, and socio-economic data to determine national health benchmarks and an annual ranking of the healthiest and least healthy states. In a disturbing development, the 2008 America’s Health Rankings™: A Call to Action for Individuals & Their Communities revealed that the health of Americans has failed to improve for the fourth consecutive year. Key factors contributing to these results included unprecedented levels of obesity, an increasing number of uninsured people, and the persistence of risky health behaviors, particularly tobacco use.
Cost And Coverage Implications Of The McCain Plan To Restructure Health Insurance
Senator John McCain's (R-AZ) health plan would eliminate the current tax exclusion of employer payments for health coverage, replace the exclusion with a refundable tax credit for those who purchase coverage, and encourage Americans to move to a national market for nongroup insurance. Middle-range estimates suggest that initially this change will have little impact on the number of uninsured people, although within five years this number will likely grow as the value of the tax credit falls relative to rising health care costs. Moving toward a relatively unregulated nongroup market will tend to raise costs, reduce the generosity of benefits, and leave people with fewer consumer protections.
The Obama Plan: More Regulation, Unsustainable Spending
The health reform plan put forth by Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) focuses on expanding insurance coverage and provides new subsidies to individuals, small businesses, and businesses experiencing catastrophic expenses. It greatly increases the federal regulation of private insurance but does not address the core economic incentives that drive health care spending. This omission along with the very substantial short-term savings claimed raise serious questions about its fiscal sustainability. Heavy regulation coupled with a fallback National Health Plan and a play-or-pay financing choice also raise questions about the future of the employer insurance market.
An Unhealthy America: The Economic Burden of Chronic Diseases
According to this study by the Milken Institute, more than half of all Americans suffer from one or more chronic diseases. Despite dramatic improvements in therapies and treatment, the rates of disease have risen dramatically – and that rising rate is a crucial but frequently ignored contributor to rising medical expenditures. Among the findings: more than 109 million Americans report having at least one chronic disease, for a total of 162 million cases, costing the American economy $1.1 Trillion per year.