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$12 water and $10 premium increases: how price elasticity is contextual in health and life

By on April 13, 2012 in Behavior change, Demographics and health, Health Consumers, Health Economics, Health engagement, Health insurance, Health insurance exchanges, Health marketing, Health Plans, Medicare, Uninsured

A $10 increase in a health plan premium drove up to 3% of retired University of Michigan employees to leave the plan, according to a study from U-M published in Health Economics, The Price Sensitivity of Medicare Beneficiaries. The U-M researchers analyzed the behaviors of 3,182 retirees over four years, to assess the impact of [...]

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Rising cost of healthcare a headache among affluent Americans

By on February 29, 2012 in Aging, Baby Boomers and Health, Health Economics, Health insurance, Medicare

For the third year in a row, wealthy Americans cite increasing health costs as their top financial concern. Furthermore, 1 in 3 affluent Americans are more concerned about the financial stress that could accompany a health event than they are about how that condition could affect their quality of life. Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, part [...]

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The self-care economy: OTC medicines in the U.S. deliver value to the health system

By on February 7, 2012 in Health Consumers, Health Economics, Medicaid, medical home, Medicare, Popular culture and health, Prescription drugs, Prevention and wellness, Primary care, Retail health

U.S. health consumers’ purchase and use of over-the-counter medicines (OTCs) generate $102 billion worth of value to the health system every year. Half of this value accrues to employers who sponsor health insurance for their workforce; 25% goes to government payers (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid); and, 25% returns to self-insured and uninsured people. For every $1 spent [...]

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Addressing chronic illness can help cure the U.S. budget deficit

By on February 6, 2012 in Affordable Care Act, Chronic care, Environment and heatlh, Food and health, Health Economics, Health reform, Health regulation, Health social networks, Medicaid, Medicare, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Prevention and wellness

Chronic illness represents $3 of every $4 of annual health spending in the U.S. That’s about $1.5 trillion. Living Well With Chronic Illness, a report from The Institute of Medicine (IOM), issues a “call for public health action” to address chronic illness through: – Adopting evidence-based interventions for disease prevention – Developing new public policies [...]

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Hey, Big Spender: 1% of US health citizens consume 20% of costs

By on January 16, 2012 in Aging and Technology, Connected health, Health at home, Health Consumers, Health disparities, Health Economics, Health engagement, Internet and Health, Internet Demographics, Medicaid, Medicare, mHealth, Mobile health, Physicians, Remote health monitoring, Seniors and health, Telehealth, Telemedicine, Women and health

Cue up the song “Hey Big Spender” from the Broadway hit, Sweet Charity, when you read the January 2012 AHRQ report with the long-winded title, The Concentration and Persistence in the Level of Health Expenditures over Time: Estimates for the U.S. Population, 2008-2009.” The report’s headline is that 1% of the U.S. population consumed 20% of all [...]

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