Medical cost reference guide (great charts!)

The Blue Cross & Blue Shield Association is pleased to present the fourth annual Medical Cost Reference Guide: Facts and Trends to Support Knowledge-Driven Solutions. The guide provides information on trends in the healthcare industry from nationally recognized data sources.

To address these trends, the Blue Cross & Blue Shield companies offer a vision for the improvement of healthcare delivery--our BluePrint for the Future. The goal is to encourage knowledge-driven approaches that can lead to better, more affordable care for consumers.

Select a section below to view detailed data on each critical area as well as on general trends and statistics. Move forward and back using the arrows to view the entire document in order.

lgstarr: There are 7 total sections, but I've provided three below that I think represent the most immediate concerns for a lot of us.

National Healthcare Trends

Understanding the economics of our healthcare system is an important step toward creating solutions that lead to better, more affordable care. To further that understanding, this guide offers information on how the U.S healthcare system is financed and the costs associated with providing health services. U.S. healthcare spending was nearly $1.7 trillion in 2003 and is expected to grow to almost $2 trillion by 2005. Our healthcare system continues to grow at a rate much faster than the rest of the economy.

Expanding Access to Care

Access to care is a far-reaching problem in the U.S. that impacts all healthcare stakeholders. Challenges to access are manifest in many issues from the problem of the uninsured to the cost of malpractice insurance and the decreasing availability of emergency care. To broaden access, new health plan benefit designs are being developed such as consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) which often help to expand coverage options for medium- and smaller-sized companies and underinsured groups such as young professionals.

General Health Statistics

Summary health statistics for the U.S. population are important in tracking the performance of the health system. These statistics help to assess health progress and to identify areas for improvement. This section highlights some of the more important birth, life expectancy, and mortality trends.