Main Article Sidebar: The California Plan: Key Coverage Features Sidebar: U.S. Healthcare Spending: Where the Money Goes* Sidebar: 45% Threshold Would Trigger Medicare Spending Cuts
	Back Next

	All healthcare reform initiatives on the table would have a special impact on clinical laboratories and pathologists because they would accelerate the current drive to link payment to the reporting of quality performance measures and to require interoperable health information technology (HIT) and e-health records to reduce medical errors and improve patient safety.

Sidebar: U.S. Healthcare Spending: Where the Money Goes*

• Total spending: $2 trillion in 2005, or $6,697 per person, up from $6,322 per person in 2004.
• Rate of growth: Slowed for third consecutive year, increasing 6.9%, compared to 7.2% in 2004 and 8.1% in 2003. The growth rate for 2005 was the slowest in healthcare spending since 1999, when growth was 6.2%.
• Share of Gross National Product: Up only slightly, to 16% from 15.9% in 2004.
• Largest share of spending: Hospital care at $611.6 billion, with growth stable at 7.9% in both 2004 and 2005.
• Physician and clinical services: Up 7% over 2004, to $421.2 billion. Medicare growth for physician services was 9.5%, slightly lower than the 10.4% growth in 2004 and reflecting continued increases in the volume and intensity of services.
• Medicare spending: Up 9.3%, to $342 billion, following growth of 10.3% in 2004. From 2000-2003, average annual spending growth was 8.1%.
• Medicaid spending: Up 7.2%, to $311 billion, compared with 7.5% in 2004.
• Private payers: $1,085 billion, of which private health insurance accounted for $694.4 billion (64%), out-of-pocket $249.4 billion (23%), and other private funds $141.2 billion (13%).

*Figures are for 2005, the latest year for which the data are available. Source: CMS Office of the Actuary, January 2007.

January 29, 2007 - Table of Contents

NIR January 29, 2007 (full PDF issue)

President Joins Growing Debate on Expanding Health Coverage

CMS Spells Out Details on Physician Bonus Pay

Shifting Political Winds Among States, on Capitol Hill Favor Greater Expansion of Healthcare Coverage

AAB Registry Exams Approved for California Licensure

Medicare Regulatory Briefs

Diabetes & Cancer Screening Lag Behind in Quality Gains