Cause for concern. . .

With my newly minted Medicare card in my wallet, I read over the Christmas break about warning signs which ought to be cause for concern for everyone -- not just Medicare recipients -- in America.  National healthcare spending increased 7.5% year over year in 2023 to $4.867 trillion, or $14,570 per person, according to data released Wednesday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services  -- accounting for 17.6% of gross domestic product. The price index for what the Labor Department classifies as medical care—which includes visits to doctors, hospital stays, prescription drugs and medical equipment—has risen roughly 40% faster than the overall pace of inflation.  For the half who receive health insurance from their employer, their employers are shouldering a lot of those costs. For example, the average worker spent $6,296 in premiums for family coverage in 2024, according to KFF. Employers spent $19,276.  Medicare, which pays at a discounted rate for all medical claims, is not immune from this spiral and is set to run out of money in 5-6 years -- as more and more Americans depend upon Medicare as their primary insurance.  It is not a problem but a crisis.

All of this, of course, comes after we are pretty much back to normal (except for the accumulated debt of it all) since Covid.  But that is the problem.  This has become the new normal.  Labor costs, drug costs, provider costs, and insurance costs are all increasing faster than any other aspect of our economy.  So what can be done?  I have no answers.  I do wonder why Americans face spending increases that are far in excess of the costs around the rest of the world.  While I will be okay, I worry more about my kids and grandkids.  This is not sustainable.  The new normal is sounding the death knell for our pride and our daily lives.  Surely there is somebody smarter than I am who can figure out a path forward to guarantee a level of quality and affordability for the cost of medical care in the US.  I do not think it is a matter of one thing or another but a combination of things that must be considered and repaired to make sure that our children and grandchildren will enjoy a quality level of health care and we can afford it.  

For the life of me I cannot figure out why we as a nation are not more worried about this.  I will not demonize hospitals or physicians but I have grave concerns about the for profit health care industry and the effect of all of this on how business gets done in that industry.  I worry about the decisions that insurers are making about our health care and the huge proliferation of middle level managers who are neither physicians nor medical professionals and yet they are deciding what is normal treatment, what will be covered, and what it will cost.  I worry about the government taking it all over and I worry about the government not taking it all over -- either outcome is concerning.  I worry about the constant barrage of TV commercials for things neither I nor any other consumer can purchase without a prescription.  Again, I am old and nothing will happen to change much during my lifetime but no society can sustain itself without access to affordable and credible medical care.  The churches were once players in this but even where the names sound religious the churches have long ago ceded control of their hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care agencies to others (for profit who bought our names or to non=profit companies who act just like the profit making ones).  I am concerned.  You ought to be as well.