2011 Alaska Health Care Commission identifies challenges, solutions

From the 2011 annual report of the Alaska Health Care Commission, three challenges (click through for solutions and next steps):

Health care cost increases in Alaska continue to outpace inflation.

• Health care spending in Alaska reached $7.5 billion in 2010, a 40% increase over 2005.
  State government’s portion of this bill was close to $2 billion.
• At current trends health care spending is expected to double to more than $14 billion by
  2020. By comparison the wellhead value of oil produced in Alaska in 2010 was $16.4
  billion and is projected to be $18.6 billion in 2020.
• Since 1982 the Anchorage Consumer Price Index increased 95%, while prices for medical
  care in Anchorage over that time period increased 320%.

Health care is increasingly unaffordable for our employers, families.

• At $11,926 per employee, Alaska has the highest average annual cost for employee health
  benefits in the nation - twice what employers in the lowest cost state pay.
• Fewer Alaskan employers are offering employee health benefits, dropping from 35% to 30% of small employers between 2003 and 2010.
• The average cost of health care premiums in Alaska increased 51% for single coverage and
  35% for family coverage between 2003 and 2010. The average annual commercial health
  insurance premium for family coverage in 2010 was $14,230.
• Despite the fact that Alaskans utilize roughly the same amount of care, health insurance
  premiums are about 30% higher here than in comparison states.

Health care prices paid in Alaska are much higher than in comparison states.

• Different payers (Medicare, Medicaid, Workers’ Compensation, commercial health insurers,
  TRICARE, and the Veterans Health Administration) pay different prices for the same service.
• The average reimbursement for physician services in Alaska is 60% higher than in
  comparison states for all payers combined – 69% higher for commercial health insurers.
• The difference in reimbursement for physician services varies depending on specialty. For
  example, Alaskan pediatricians are paid 43% more, while cardiologists are paid 83% more.
• Commercial health insurance reimbursement for private sector hospital services is 37%
  higher than in comparison states; Medicare pays our private sector hospitals 36% more.
• Alaska’s higher medical prices are due in part to higher operating costs for providers
  resulting from a higher cost of living, more costly employee benefits, transportation and
  shipping costs, fuel prices, and workforce shortages.
• Higher prices are also due to high physician pricing power compared to other states, and a
  high average operating profit margin for the private hospital sector.
• Low Medicare payment rates create upward pressure on prices for other payers.

Comments

[essay writers]

It is a good thing they have identified this things so that they could make a solution to the problems.