An American Approach to Health System Reform
- John Holahan, PhD;
- Marilyn Moon, PhD;
- W. Pete Welch, PhD;
- Stephen Zuckerman, PhD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
THE MAJOR problems in the United States' health care system today are the large number of uninsured Americans, the high and rising costs of the system, and the system's administrative complexity. With over 32 million Americans lacking health insurance at any time and 63 million Americans lacking health insurance at some point during a recent 28-month period, the problem of being uninsured is faced by a large percentage of the population.1-5 Despite this lack of coverage, the United States spends more on health care, per capita and as a percentage of gross national product (GNP), than any other country. In addition, we also have one of the highest rates of increase—over 4% per year after adjusting for inflation.6,7 Finally, it is estimated that the annual administrative expenses borne by insurance companies, physicians, hospitals, and other providers are about $80 billion, or 1.5% of GNP.8 This does not
Footnotes
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Reprint requests to Director, Health Policy Center, The Urban Institute, 2100 M St NW, Washington, DC 20037 (Dr Holahan).
