Drew Altman
Drew Altman
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The positive drum beat has caught up with the negative one. But on an individual basis, most seniors still can't answer the big question: 'What does it mean for me?
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The point is that when they talk about quality of health care, patients mean something entirely different than experts do. They're not talking about numbers or outcomes but about their own human experience, which is a combination of cost, paperwork and what I'll call the hassle factor, the impersonal nature of the care.
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More than nine years into our longest economic expansion on record, more employers are now using health insurance coverage to attract and keep workers, and are absorbing rising costs rather than passing them on to their employees. But this may change if the economy cools down, and the bigger challenge that still remains is how to help the 44 million Americans who are uninsured despite the robust economy.
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It is low-wage workers who are being hurt the most by the steady drip, drip, drip of coverage draining out of the employer-based health insurance system.
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Don't be fooled by the moderation we've seen this year,
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Beneficiaries are having a difficult time answering the most important question: 'What does it mean for me?'
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All these could have some impact at the margin, but I don't expect any to have a dramatic impact on the rate of increase overall.
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It's just too complicated for them to get it from a brochure, or a Web site, or to answer the critical question of, 'What does this mean for me?' ... Unfortunately, it's going to take a real world test for us to figure out whether this works or doesn't work.
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There have been temporary successes, but always health care costs have bounced back with a vengeance.
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The good news is the rate of increase in health care costs is down, ... The bad news is that's the only good news.
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There are lots of things on the table, but there's nothing that will have a significant impact on the rate of increase of health care costs.