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PubMedDate not supplied

[Health transition in Tunisia over the past 50 years].

We describe the dramatic demographic, socioeconomic and health changes witnessed in Tunisia over the past 50 years. Demographically, the gross mortality rate and the infant mortality rate have gone from 19 per 1000 and 150 per 1000 respectively in 1956 to 5.7 per 1000 and 26.2 per 1000 now, and life expectancy at birth going from 50 to 72 years for the same period. Socioeconomically, the urban population has risen from 25% to 62%, the literacy rate from 15% to 73%, and the per capita income has increased 5-fold in real terms. Epidemiologically, the infectious and perinatal diseases prevailing in the 1960s have decreased whereas chronic and degenerative diseases have risen. The proportion of the GNP related to health expenditure has risen from 3.8% to 6.2%. The implication of these changes on the Tunisian health system and the need to adapt in terms of curative care and prevention of risks are discussed.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ipratropium bromide in the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: effect on health service expenditures.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is estimated to affect 32 million Americans, is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. This retrospective study was designed to discern the economic utility of initial pharmacotherapy with various individual drugs in the management of COPD, as well as subsequent costs incurred as disease progression necessitated combination therapy. Data for this analysis were derived from the computer archive of a network-model health maintenance organization. During the first 6 months post-diagnosis for COPD, results indicated a significant (P < or = 0.05) increase in expenditures for physicians, hospital care, and total health service utilization for patients prescribed theophylline, a corticosteroid (triamcinolone or beclomethasone) delivered via a metered-dose inhaler, or albuterol delivered via a metered-dose inhaler as initial monotherapy compared with patients prescribed ipratropium bromide (IB) delivered via a metered-dose inhaler. Patients receiving initial pharmacotherapy with ipratropium bromide and subsequently adding albuterol used significantly less health care services (P < or = 0.05) during the first 15 months post-diagnosis for COPD than did patients prescribed all other combination therapies we evaluated.

Female↗
PubMed2006

Health care expenditure burdens among adults with diabetes in 2001.

OBJECTIVE: High out-of-pocket costs can pose a significant burden on patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and contribute to decreased treatment adherence. We examined financial burdens among adults with diabetes using nationally representative data. METHODS: estimated how frequently adults with diabetes live in families in which spending on health insurance premiums and health care services exceed a specified percentage of family-level after-tax disposable income. RESULTS: We found that adults with diabetes face greater risks of high burdens compared with adults with any other highly prevalent medical condition. Adults with diabetes have lower incomes and pay a higher share of total expenditures out-of-pocket compared with adults with heart disease, hypertension, and cancer. Among adults with diabetes, women, those who live in poverty, and those with coexisting conditions are more likely to bear high burdens. Among nonelderly adults, those with public coverage and the uninsured have greater risk of high burdens compared with those with private insurance. More than 23% of the uninsured and more than 20% of those with public coverage spend more than half of their disposable income on health care. Among the elderly, those with private nonemployment related insurance have the greatest risk of high burdens followed by those with Medicare only, those with private employment-related coverage, and those enrolled in Medicaid. Prescription medications and diabetic supplies account for 63% to 70% of out-of-pocket expenditures among the nonelderly and 62% to 69% among the elderly. CONCLUSIONS: Our study identifies the subpopulations among adults with diabetes who are more likely to have high burdens, so that intervention measures can be targeted to help reduce treatment noncompliance. Our analysis also emphasizes the role of medications and diabetic supplies in contributing to high out-of-pocket burdens.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Provider payments and patient charges as policy tools for cost-containment: How successful are they in high-income countries?

In this paper, we focus on those policy instruments with monetary incentives that are used to contain public health expenditure in high-income countries. First, a schematic view of the main cost-containment methods and the variables in the health system they intend to influence is presented. Two types of instruments to control the level and growth of public health expenditure are considered: (i) provider payment methods that influence the price and quantity of health care, and (ii) cost-containment measures that influence the behaviour of patients. Belonging to the first type of instruments, we have: fee-for-service, per diem payment, case payment, capitation, salaries and budgets. The second type of instruments consists of patient charges and reference price systems for pharmaceuticals. Secondly, we provide an overview of experience in high-income countries that use or have used these particular instruments. Finally, the paper assesses the overall potential of these instruments in cost-containment policies.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

External assistance to the health sector in developing countries: a detailed analysis, 1972-90.

This study, which was conducted for the World Bank's World development report 1993: investing in health, provides an objective analysis of the external assistance to the health sector by quantifying in detail the sources and recipients of such assistance in 1990, by analysing time trends for external assistance to the health sector over the last two decades, and, to the extent possible, by describing the allocation of resources to specific activities in the health sector. The main findings of the study are that total external assistance to the health sector in 1990 was US$ 4800 million, or only 2.9% of total health expenditures in developing countries. After stagnation in real terms during the first half of the 1980s, health sector assistance has been increasing since 1986. Despite their small volume, external assistance at the margins may play a critical role in capital investment, research and strategic planning. The study confirms prior findings that health status variables per se are not related to the amount of aid received. Comparing investments to the burden of disease shows tremendous differences in the funding for different health problems. A number of conditions are comparatively under-financed, particularly noncommunicable diseases and injuries.

Communicable Disease Control↗
PubMed1976

The measurement of expenditures for outpatient physician and dental services: methodological findings from the health insurance study.

Survey data measuring outpatient health expenditure are evaluated for item nonresponse, measurement error, and bias. Item nonresponse is high for persons whose health care is financed through the public sector, but is otherwise manageable. Estimates of mean total and out-of-pocket physician and dental expenditure from two surveys using indirect methods (including the Health Insurance Study) are compared with nonsurvey estimates. Out-of-pocket physician expenditure is overestimated, but the other measures appear unbiased. Estimates using direct, self-administrated methods appear biased upward. We demonstrate that commonly used record check methods for evaluating survey data will make random error appear as bias, and a methodology we develop shows substantial random error in the measurement of dental expenditure: 44 per cent of the total variance in survey data and 39 per cent of the variance in records.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed2004

Critical care medicine in the United States 1985-2000: an analysis of bed numbers, use, and costs.

OBJECTIVE: To establish a database that permits description and analysis of the evolving role, patterns of use, and costs of critical care medicine (CCM) in the United States from 1985 to 2000. DESIGN: Retrospective study combining data from federal (Hospital Cost Report Information System, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Baltimore, MD) and private (Hospital Statistics, American Hospital Association, Chicago, IL) databases to analyze U.S. hospitals, hospital and CCM beds, and occupancy. CCM costs were calculated by the Russell equation and compared with national health care and financial indexes. SETTING: Nonfederal, acute care hospitals with CCM units in the United States. SUBJECTS: None. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We analyzed hospitals with CCM units and focused on hospital and CCM beds, CCM occupancy, and CCM costs. CCM costs were compared with national cost indexes. Between 1985 and 2000, the total number of U.S. hospitals decreased by 8.9% (6,032 to 5,494) and acute care hospitals offering CCM decreased by 13.7% (4,150 to 3,581). The total number of beds in hospitals with CCM units decreased by 26.4% (889,600 to 654,400). In contrast, CCM beds increased by 26.2% (69,300 to 87,400). CCM occupancy was constant at 65%. CCM bed costs per day increased by 126% (1,185 to 2,674 US dollars). Although CCM costs increased by 190.4% (19.1 billion to 55.5 billion US dollars), the proportion of national health expenditures allocated to CCM decreased by 5.4%. In 2000, CCM costs represented 13.3% of hospital costs, 4.2% of national health expenditures, and 0.56% of the gross domestic product. CONCLUSIONS: CCM is increasingly used and prominent in a shrinking U.S. hospital system. CCM occupancy is lower than expected. Despite its increasing use and cost, CCM is using proportionally less of national health expenses and the gross domestic product than previously estimated.

Bed Occupancy↗
PubMed2004

Profile of medical charges for children by health status group and severity level in a Washington State Health Plan.

OBJECTIVE: To identify children and evaluate patterns of charges for pediatric medical care, by overall health status, severity of illness, and categories of medical service. Data Sources Enrollment, claims, and charges data from a Washington State health plan. The study population includes all children ages 0 to 18 years during calendar year 1999. STUDY DESIGN: Children were classified into clinically defined health status groups and severity levels using Clinical Risk Groups (CRGs). Health plan charges were analyzed according to core health status group, severity level, and category of service. DATA COLLECTION: The three secondary data sources were obtained electronically from the health plan and cleaned for unique members and data quality before analysis. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Children classified as healthy (85.2 percent) had mean and median annual charges of dollar 485 and dollar 191. Children with one or more chronic conditions (9.5 percent) had mean and median charges increasing by status and severity group from dollar 2,303 to dollar 76,143 and from dollar 1,151 to dollar 19,456, and accounted for 45.2 percent of all charges. Distribution of charges varied across health status groups. Healthy children had 70.6 percent of their charges in outpatient and physician services. Children classified in the complex, catastrophic, and malignancy groups had 67 percent of their charges in inpatient encounters. Children with chronic conditions accounted for 31.8 percent of all physician, 41.8 percent of outpatient, 47.7 percent of pharmacy, 60.7 percent of inpatient, and 75.8 percent of all other charges. CONCLUSIONS: Children with chronic conditions account for a disproportionately high percentage of children's health expenditures. They account for different percentages of expenses for different medical services. These percentages vary according to health status and severity. This analysis can be used to identify and track groups of children for various purposes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Drugs, health and the economy: investment, innovation, outcomes, growth.

Sustainability of the Canadian health system is currently foremost in the minds of many stakeholders. Historically, health expenditures have been viewed as ever increasing and with little visible economic return. Recently, economists have recognized the health arena as an important growth area within the total economy and have begun quantitative analyses of the impact of health investments as drivers of innovation and the general economic advance of nations. In particular, evidence has focused on the discovery and diffusion of new drugs as practical reflections of the quality ladder model of innovation, largely through their provision of improved duration and quality of life and accompanying productivity. The rate of return on innovative drug therapy within the universe of patients who could benefit is, however, impeded by under-prescription of, restricted access to, and/or impaired compliance with, newer efficacious drugs. The authors support further research to assist in future health policy decisions, including wider testing of the partnership/measurement model of disease management as a feasible tool to optimize the social rate of return on already-proven drug therapy. They further recommend these partnerships be designed with enough breadth of vision to facilitate their transition to operational projects compatible with evolving public health policies.

Canada↗
PubMed1986

The changing health care environment.

In 1985, the rate of growth of national health expenditures was more than twice the overall rate of growth in prices in the United States, while the percentage of health expenditures relative to the Gross National Product reached a record high of 10.7 percent. There have been almost no changes in the fraction of direct patient payments for medical care since 1980, or in the fraction paid by third parties or the government. Consequently, cost increases in the gross price of medical care are being transferred directly to the patient population. The expense associated with medical treatment and the availability of managed care systems (Health Maintenance Organizations and Preferred Provider Organizations, among others) have contributed to the increasing cost consciousness of patient and physician alike. One of the areas in which the spiralling costs of medical care are most deeply felt is in the treatment of hypertension. The direct costs for treating this condition, which affects more than 25 percent of the American population, exceed $8 billion annually. Furthermore, hypertension is a chronic condition in which the cost of treatment is continuously apparent to the patient. Moderate and severe hypertension is more likely to affect elderly and black patients, the people who are least able to pay for therapy. Difficulty in paying for therapy is becoming an increasingly important problem due to the trend among physicians to prescribe newer and more expensive antihypertensive drugs instead of the more commonly used diuretics and beta blockers. Due to the cost-conscious attitude of patients, the physician who chooses the more expensive drugs may run the risk of losing patronage among middle- and upper-income patients. In the case of lower-income patients, prescribing expensive drugs may result in noncompliance. In order to guard against incursions by managed care systems and ensure the best care for low-income patients, physicians must assume a cost-conscious attitude toward the treatment of hypertension.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

An analysis of the determinants of maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.

OBJECTIVE: To establish what population characteristics affect the high maternal mortality rate in the sub-Saharan Africa region and to propose possible solutions to reduce this rate. METHODS: This study is a secondary analysis of existing data sources from the World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as direct and indirect sources from UNAIDS, the United Nations, Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Macro International, and national statistical offices. Instead of looking at continentwide or individual nation models, it develops a regional model. Sociodemographic population variables are used as independent variables to predict the dependent variable, maternal mortality. Additionally, a new country-specific political stability independent variable is introduced into the model. Data from 28 sub-Saharan African countries are used. Bivariate correlations are used to establish associations among the variables, whereas cross-tabulations, using Kendall's tau-c values, and regression lines are used to establish impacts. RESULTS: In the sub-Saharan Africa region, births attended by skilled health personnel and life expectancy at birth strongly correlate with maternal mortality. Gross national product (GNP) per capita and health expenditure per capita also have strong association with maternal mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The availability of skilled delivery personnel, life expectancy, national economic wealth, and health expenditure per capita predict the maternal mortality rate of a country. Based on these findings, it is recommended that structural arrangements be made to train skilled health personnel to take care of maternal health problems. In view of the high cost of training physicians, middle-level health personnel may offer an affordable alternative to handle emergency obstetrical cases to address the shortage of physicians. In addition, the allocation of adequate resources to the health sector could improve maternal mortality. The economic wealth of a country and life expectancy at birth are less modifiable through short-term specific interventions. Additionally, it is recommended that country-specific interventions are needed to correct the problem of lack of critical data for analysis.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Health cost containment: what it will mean for workers and local economies.

After decades of rapid growth, the rate of increase in health services spending appears to be moderating. Although a slowdown in health expenditure growth would release resources for other uses in the economy, concerns have been raised about the effects of a spending slowdown on health workers and regional economies. Based on projections carried out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics during the health reform debate and on state health sector employment data, the author concludes that health workers may experience costly dislocation as health spending growth slows, and some regions may be more affected than others. However, the appropriate response is a general economic policy supporting economic growth and full employment policy with regard to health expenditure growth cannot be held hostage to concerns about employment effects.

Cost Control↗
PubMed2003

Predictors of health resource use by disabled older female Medicare beneficiaries living in the community.

OBJECTIVES: To identify specific clinical factors that could best predict resource use by disabled older women. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Urban community in Baltimore, Maryland. PARTICIPANTS: One thousand two community-dwelling, moderately to severely disabled, female Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older, from the Women's Health and Aging Study I (WHAS). MEASUREMENTS: WHAS data were merged with participants' 1992-1994 Medicare claims data for the year after baseline evaluation, reflecting inpatient, outpatient, home-based, and skilled-nursing services. The independent contributions of factors hypothesized to predict health expenditures were assessed, using chi-square and regression analyses, with the logarithm of Medicare expenditures as the primary outcome. RESULTS: Demographic factors were not associated with Medicare expenditures. Factors associated with expenditures in bivariate analyses included heart disease (1.4x), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (1.3x), diabetes mellitus (1.1x), smoking, comorbidity, and severity of disability, as well as low creatinine clearance, serum albumin, caloric expenditure, or skinfold thickness. Heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and low skinfold thickness remained significant after adjustment for other factors. CONCLUSION: Heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and low skinfold thickness are important independent predictors of 1-year Medicare expenditures by disabled older women. Many other variables that reflect disease, disability, nutrition, or personal habits have less predictive ability. Most demographic factors are not predictors of expenditures in this population. Focusing on the best predictors may facilitate more-effective risk adjustment and creation of related health policies.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Resources required for global tuberculosis control.

We estimate that to achieve the World Health Organization's tuberculosis control targets, the 22 high-burden countries (HBCs) that collectively account for approximately 80% of the world's tuberculosis cases require about $1 billion per year during the period 2001 to 2005. A further $0.2 billion per year is needed for low and lower-middle income countries outside the 22 HBCs. There is a resource gap of up to around $300 million per year. Substantial progress in tuberculosis control could be achieved with increased investment that is large in the context of existing spending, but small in the wider context of global health expenditure.

Budgets↗
PubMed1998

Features of employment-based health plans.

This Issue Brief focuses on changes to the health care financing and delivery system as implemented by employers. It discusses health plan costs, cost sharing, plan funding, health care delivery systems, services covered under various health plan types, coverage limitations, and retiree health coverage. National health expenditures are estimated at $1.035 trillion, representing 13.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 1996, up from $699.5 billion and 12.2 percent in 1990. Rising health care spending is also evident at the employer level: In 1996, employer spending on private health insurance totaled $262.7 billion, up from $61.0 billion in 1980. Business health spending as a percentage of total compensation increased from 3.7 percent in 1980 to a high of 6.6 percent in 1993, and declined to 5.9 percent in 1996. Employment-based health plans are the most common source of health insurance coverage among the nonelderly population in the United States, providing coverage to nearly two-thirds of those under age 65. Despite the growth of many cost-sharing provisions, individuals are paying a smaller percentage of total health care costs. In 1960, 69 percent of private health care expenditures were paid out of pocket. Between 1993 and 1996, only 37 percent of private health expenditures were paid out of pocket. One of the most significant developments of the 1980s, which has continued throughout the 1990s, is the growth of managed care plans. As recently as 1994, traditional indemnity plans were the most commonly offered type of employment-based health plan. As fewer employers offered traditional indemnity plans, participation in these plans declined and participation in managed care plans increased. In 1997, 15 percent of employees participating in a health plan were enrolled in an indemnity plan, compared with 52 percent in 1992. Since 1993, employment-based health benefit cost inflation has been virtually nonexistent. Employers have kept cost increases low by using managed care and making other changes. Workers have been shifted to, have been induced to choose, or have voluntarily selected managed care health plans. Preferred provider organization (PPO) and point-of-service (POS) plans have experienced relatively strong gains in enrollment. Employers have also increased the use of utilization review for active workers, and cut back on health benefits for retirees. These changes are in stark contrast to the pre-1993 period, which saw even faster change, with rising health care costs and increasing deductibles and coinsurance for workers in non-HMOs.

Cost Sharing↗
PubMed2003

[Out-of-pocket health care costs among population groups in Iceland.].

OBJECTIVE: Total health expenditures, and out-of-pocket health care costs have increased in recent years in Western Europe and North America. Developments in Iceland appear to be similar. Access and cost are closely related and direct household health care costs often reduce subsequent use of services. The purpose of the study was to consider whether certain population groups spent more on health care than others both in absolute terms and as percentage of household income. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study is based on a national health survey titled Health and Living Conditions in Iceland. A random sample of 18-75 year olds was drawn from the National Register, and the response rate was 69% (1924 respondents). Average household out-of-pocket health care costs (in krónur) and out-of-pocket household costs as percentage of household income were compared between sociodemographic groups. RESULTS: The largest health care expenditure items were dental care, drugs, other drug store items and equipment, and physician care (in this order). The middle aged (45-54), married/cohabiting, parents, large households, full-time employed, and people with high education and income, had the greatest household out-of-pocket costs in absolute terms. However, when considering costs as percentage of household income, women, older individuals (age 55 and older) and the young (age 18-24), the non-employed and unemployed, and low income people were on top. CONCLUSIONS: Household out-of-pocket health care costs differ substantially between sociodemographic groups in Iceland. It can be argued and empirically substantiated that out-of-pocket health care costs in Iceland are already at a risky level, affecting access of individuals and groups to health services.

English Abstract↗
PubMed1993

An evaluation of freestanding alcoholism treatment for Medicare recipients.

The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) conducted a demonstration between 1982 and 1985 to test the feasibility of providing payments for alcoholism treatment services to Medicare and Medicaid recipients in specially selected freestanding facilities. This study of the Medicare part of the demonstration answers two questions: do freestanding facilities save money for Medicare and do their patients have lower health care utilization following initiation of treatment than patients treated in hospital-based facilities? The statistical methodology is a logit and cluster approach. The analysis begins with a logistic regression model to predict the probability of patients seeking alcoholism treatment in either the demonstration (freestanding facility) or hospital-based cohort. The statistically significant variables from logit analysis are then used to form clusters. The health expenditures of freestanding and hospital patients are compared within homogeneous clusters. This study shows that the number of admissions, the average length of stay, and the average monthly health expenditures following the start of treatment are lower for the group treated in the freestanding facilities. The conclusion is that for some persons with alcohol problems, treatment in freestanding facilities is less costly and leads to lower subsequent health care utilization than treatment in hospitals.

Adult↗