{"id":10703,"date":"2020-12-22T09:24:22","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T15:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/?p=10703"},"modified":"2021-01-05T10:49:01","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T16:49:01","slug":"divisiveness-and-the-economic-challenges-of-2021-challenge-4-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/2020\/12\/22\/divisiveness-and-the-economic-challenges-of-2021-challenge-4-healthcare\/","title":{"rendered":"Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021 \u2013 Challenge #4: Healthcare"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It&#8217;s time to continue with our <strong>Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021<\/strong> series with <strong>Challenge #4 \u2013 Healthcare.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One positive thing to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic \u2013 the demonstration of the commitment, dedication and excellence of U.S. healthcare workers. The technological capabilities and advances in healthcare, combined with the dedication of healthcare workers, are certainly outstanding attributes of the U.S. healthcare system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, there are a variety of challenges that exist for the U.S. healthcare system. Once again, there certainly have been divisions \u2013 the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and universal health care discussions are primary examples. Costs, access to care and administration of health care are major issues that would hopefully be improved by productive discussions of differences in opinions. Some of the challenges:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>On a per capita basis, the United States spends more on health care than any other country \u2013 by far. According to the <em>OECD<\/em> (<em>Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)<\/em>, the top 5 countries for health care spending per capita in 2019 were: 1) United States $11,072, 2) Switzerland $7,732, 3) Norway $6,647, 4) Germany $6,646, 5) Austria $5,851. Canada ranked 11th at $5,418 while the United Kingdom ranked 17th at $4,653.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A March 2019 article in the <em>American Journal of Public Health <\/em>stated that although the ACA expanded and upgraded health insurance coverage through banning preexisting illness exclusions, imposing a cap on out-of-pocket spending, and mandating coverage for essential benefits, medical costs could still be a significant financial burden, with two-thirds of individual bankruptcies related to medical costs.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>According to\na 2020 report by the <em>Kaiser Family\nFoundation<\/em>, since 2010\nhealthcare costs have risen much faster than wages. Average family healthcare\npremiums (paid by an employer) have increased 55%, workers\u2019 contribution for\nfamily healthcare premiums (their portion of premium cost) increased 40%, deductibles\nincreased 111%, wages have increased only 27%. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A 2019 study by the <em>Kaiser Family Foundation<\/em> found that approximately half of U.S. adults indicated that they or a family member put off or skipped some sort of health care or dental care or relied on an alternative treatment in the past year because of the cost, and about one in eight said their medical condition got worse as a result. Three in 10 of all adults reported not taking their medicines as prescribed at some point in the past year because of the cost.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>According to a 2018 study by the <em>Peterson Center on Healthcare<\/em> and the <em>Kaiser Family Foundation<\/em>, the share of the nonelderly population with employer-sponsored health insurance fell by more than 8 percentage points between 1998 and 2018, from 67% to 58%. Although there was a modest increase in the percentage of job-based coverage between 2013 and 2018 as the economy improved, the increase was not nearly enough to offset the long-term decline. The COVID-19 economic challenges could reverse the recent increase.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The <em>U.S. News<\/em> 2020 Best Countries rankings\nwas developed in partnership with BAV Group, a unit of global marketing\ncommunications company VMLY&amp;R, and the&nbsp;Wharton School of the\nUniversity of Pennsylvania. The rankings evaluate 73 countries across 24\nrankings drawn from a survey of more than 20,000 global citizens, measuring 75\ndifferent metrics. When it comes to health care, the U.S. was ranked 15th for\nhaving a well-developed health care system. The country that ranked first for\nhaving the most well-developed heath care system was Canada. <strong><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>If Obamacare is repealed, the <em>Economic Policy\nInstitute<\/em> estimates that nearly 30 million Americans will lose healthcare\ncoverage.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The dedication and excellence of\nhealthcare workers along with the technological advances in healthcare are\noutstanding attributes of the U.S. healthcare system. But significant\nchallenges remain. The challenge for the U.S. is to create the best healthcare\nsystem in the world on a cost-efficient basis with excellent access and\nadministration ease for all Americans. That would take a lessoning of divisions\nand an increase in meaningful dialog among policy makers and health care\nprofessionals to accomplish these goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For further\ninformation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>From the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development): <a href=\"https:\/\/data.oecd.org\/healthres\/health-spending.htm\">Healthcare Spending by Country<\/a><\/li><li>Information on Health Care from the Kaiser Family Foundation: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/issue-brief\/data-note-americans-challenges-health-care-costs\/\">Data Note: Americans\u2019 Challenges with Health Care Costs<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/report\/2020-employer-health-benefits-survey\/\">2020 Employer Health Benefits Survey<\/a><\/li><li>From the Economic Policy Institute: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epi.org\/aca-obamacare-repeal-impact\/\">Impact of ACA Repeal<\/a><\/li><li>From the American Journal of Public Health: <a href=\"https:\/\/ajph.aphapublications.org\/doi\/10.2105\/AJPH.2018.304901?eType=EmailBlastContent&amp;eId=a5697b7e-8ffc-4373-b9d2-3eb745d9debb&amp;=&amp;\">Medical Bankruptcy: Still Common Despite the Affordable Care Act<\/a><\/li><li>From Peterson-KFF: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthsystemtracker.org\/brief\/long-term-trends-in-employer-based-coverage\/#:~:text=In%202018%2C%2068%25%20of%20workers,in%20all%20household%20poverty%20categories.\">Long-Term Trends in Employer-Based Coverage<\/a><\/li><li>From U.S. News: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/news\/best-countries\/slideshows\/countries-with-the-most-well-developed-public-health-care-system\">Countries With the Most Well-Developed Public Health Care Systems<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/cbei20201201c-1.jpg\" alt=\"Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021\" class=\"wp-image-10634\" width=\"264\" height=\"162\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>CBEI Series: Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/2020\/11\/30\/divisiveness-and-the-economic-challenges-of-2021-challenge-1-covid-19-and-the-2021-economy\/\">Challenge #1: COVID-19 and the 2021 Economy<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/2020\/12\/07\/divisiveness-and-the-economic-challenges-of-2021-challenge-2-controlling-u-s-debt-and-federal-budget-deficits\/\">Challenge #2: Controlling U.S. Debt and Federal Budget Deficits<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/2020\/12\/14\/divisiveness-and-the-economic-challenges-of-2021-challenge-3-manufacturing-and-trade\/\">Challenge #3: Manufacturing and Trade<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/2020\/12\/22\/divisiveness-and-the-economic-challenges-of-2021-challenge-4-healthcare\/\">Challenge #4: Healthcare<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/2020\/12\/29\/divisiveness-and-the-economic-challenges-of-2021-challenge-5-u-s-economic-leadership\/\">Challenge #5: U.S. Economic Leadership<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/2021\/01\/05\/divisiveness-and-the-economic-challenges-of-2021-challenge-6-wages\/\">Challenge #6: Wages<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile has-background\" style=\"background-color:#a5a4a4;grid-template-columns:32% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/CPS-BusEcon-Bahr-Kevin-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Kevin Bahr\" class=\"wp-image-12217 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/CPS-BusEcon-Bahr-Kevin-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/CPS-BusEcon-Bahr-Kevin-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/CPS-BusEcon-Bahr-Kevin-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/CPS-BusEcon-Bahr-Kevin-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/CPS-BusEcon-Bahr-Kevin.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color\">Kevin Bahr is a professor emeritus of finance and chief analyst of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwsp.edu\/business\/sentry-school-of-business-and-economics\/centers-and-outreach\/center-for-business-and-economic-insight\/\">Center for Business and Economic Insight<\/a> in the Sentry School of Business and Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s time to continue with our Divisiveness and the Economic Challenges of 2021 series with Challenge #4 \u2013 Healthcare. One positive thing to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic \u2013 the demonstration of the commitment, dedication and excellence of U.S. healthcare workers. The technological capabilities and advances in healthcare, combined with the dedication of healthcare [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":10634,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,527,12],"tags":[124,532,305,342,502,343,344],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10703"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10703"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10737,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10703\/revisions\/10737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}