Health care crisis compared to current economic crisis - primary care touted as a solution

Tommy Thompson, former HHS Secretary, and Kenneth Thorpe, M.D., executive director of the Emory Institute for Advanced Policy Solutions in Atlanta, speaking at a media telebriefing conducted by the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD), argue that imminent action must be taken to prevent an impending crisis in health care similar to the one currently plaguing financial markets.



As we have been hearing for years now, the US health care system is in imminent danger of collapse. It is conceivable with the current growing costs of health care that no one will be able health care in 10-15 years.

Some current facts:

• increasing burden of chronic diseases: 95% of Medicare expenses is spent on chronic diseases
• this proportion is likely to grow: currently 21 million Americans are diabetic but 41 million more are pre-diabetic (this would increase expenses on diabetes from $145 billion to $400 billion annually if all these people became diabetic)
  
• 16% of the GNP is spent on health care, amount to $2.4 trillion per year; proportionally more than any other nation on the planet!
• 47 million people in the US do not have health insurance
• example: General Motors spends $5.5 billion/yr on providing health insurance to its employees more than it spends on steel for auto parts
  

Thompson and Thorpe argue that the economic crisis makes it even more urgent that we must redefine the ways we approach health care. They propose the creation of integrated primary care teams, focus on prevention rather than treatment in health care, and use of technology to better integrate patient tracking. The integration of patient care based in a primary care home will reduce redundancy and reduce the need for specialist care.

To read more details see:
http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/government-medicine/20081008pfcd-tele.html