By: Jessie Hellman Health-care spending has increased because prices are rising, not because Americans are using more health care, according to a new study released Tuesday. The report from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) showed that total health-care spending grew by 4.6 percent per person from 2015 to 2016 even as utilization of services remained steady, or declined in some cases. As...
By: Jeanne Whalen Spending on health care accelerated in 2016 for Americans who get insurance through work, even as use of most health-care services declined or remained flat. The reason, according to a new report: price increases. Rising prices for prescription drugs, surgery, emergency-room visits and other services drove a 4.6% increase in total spending per person, versus 4.1% in 2015 and less...
Fewer women are getting hysterectomies in every state across the country. Instead, more patients may be choosing minimally invasive procedures or other alternatives to handle issues like pelvic pain and fibroids over a traditional abdominal hysterectomy, new Michigan Medicine research suggests. The rate of hysterectomies in the U.S. decreased 12 percent between 2010 and 2013, from nearly 40 ...
By: Sam Baker Health care spending is up. Way up. That's because prices are up — not because we're using more health care, according to newly published data from the Health Care Cost Institute. The numbers that matter: Health care spending grew by 4.5% from 2015 to 2016, yet utilization was steady — or, in some cases, actually declined — during the same period. According to HCCI's analysis, which ...
By: Daniel Chang Most Americans have health coverage through their jobs, but that doesn't mean they are better off when it comes to spending for their care, according to a five-year analysis of billions of insurance claims by the nonprofit Health Care Cost Institute. In a study published Tuesday, HCCI found that working Americans used less healthcare but paid more for it every year from 2012 to 20...
