Are rising health care costs inevitable?

How 'cost disease' will impact the success of health care delivery reform

2014-09-03

(Press-News.org) New Rochelle, NY, September 3, 2014–If continuing increases in health care costs are inevitable, as some economists predict, is it possible for health care delivery reform to succeed in reducing the overall burden of health care expenditures on the U.S. economy? According to the results of a new study, the focus should shift from cost control to improving utilization rates and quality outcomes, as described in detail in an article in Population Health Management, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Population Health Management website until October 3, 2014.

In the article "Evaluating Health Care Delivery Reform Initiatives in the Face of 'Cost Disease'," Steven Thompson, PhD, University of Richmond, VA, Rajiv Kohli, PhD, College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, VA), Craig Jones, MD and Nick Lovejoy, Vermont Blueprint for Health (Williston, VT), and Katharine McGraves-Lloyd and Karl Finison, Onpoint Health Data (Portland, ME), analyzed claims by patients in Vermont covered by Medicaid and commercial insurance for the 5-year period 2007-2011. The authors evaluated utilization rates and cost of care for inpatient services for individuals treated in patient-centered medical homes, which are part of a novel delivery system model in Vermont that focuses on enhancing preventive health services. Through disease prevention and improved disease management, a goal of this delivery model is reduced inpatient care, with a corresponding decrease in per patient cost of care.

"Research like this is very important in building the evidentiary basis for the Patient Centered Medical Home," says Editor-in-Chief David B. Nash, MD, MBA, Dean and Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon Professor, Jefferson School of Population Health, Philadelphia, PA. "It is especially important when it comes to helping persons in the Medicaid program."

INFORMATION: About the Journal Population Health Management is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online that reflects the expanding scope of health care management and quality. The journal delivers a comprehensive, integrated approach to the field of population health and provides information designed to improve the systems and policies that affect health care quality, access, and outcomes. Comprised of peer-reviewed original research papers, clinical research, and case studies, the content encompasses a broad range of chronic diseases (such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic pain, diabetes, depression, and obesity) in addition to focusing on various aspects of prevention and wellness. Tables of Contents and a sample issue may be viewed on the Population Health Management website. Population Health Management is the official journal of the Population Health Alliance.

About the Publisher Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Journal of Women's Health, Journal of Men's Health, Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, and Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.

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Are rising health care costs inevitable?

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