Medical Care Inflation
Jenson Hagen
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical care in the Portland/Salem area rose 81% since mid-2000. That represents a 6.1% rate of growth per year. That's the exact same rate of inflation as what has occurred with gasoline.
The BLS does not report education specifically. They combine it with communications, such as the cost to mail a FedEx package. Not sure why both of those are combined. Maybe because communications have been flat nationally while education has increased 77% since mid-2000.
The total rate of inflation for the Portland/Salem area since mid-2000 has averaged 2% per year, representing a 23% increase in prices overall. Recreation and education/communications have been fairly flat. Medical care increased the most. Transportation experienced a 34% increase with gasoline being part of that statistic. Housing was slightly under the average growing only 20%.
The only category of goods to decrease was apparel down -19%. You can thank outsourcing for that little gem. We need real solutions to keep medical costs from increasing 3x faster than the area's average. Maybe we should start outsourcing medical care. Anyone up for a trip to Canada or Mexico?
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7:11 p.m.
Aug 24, '10
Sadly, "medical care" is one of the biggest 'growth industries' fueling our economy right now. But of course, we have to be sick in order for more profits to be made in this system!
In 1995, I presented along with colleagues to a "Managed care/HMO" system a design for a prevention health program. The premise of course was that preventing illness would make "Manged care/HMO" more profitable since their fees were 'fixed'.
After the presentation, we asked one of the attendees (who was a friend of the other presenter) "Do you think your HMO will participate in this?" And I will never forget his comment, he said "It's a great idea and you're right, it would make people healthier. But we're not actually in the health care business--we're in the money making business. So, if more and more people get sick...that's fine...we'll just raise our rates. And sure enough, they did! That was 1995...now in 2010, health care costs are skyrocketing and insurance companies are laughing all the way to the bank.
7:36 p.m.
Aug 24, '10
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical care in the Portland/Salem area rose 81% since mid-2000.
Please provide links to your sources.
9:08 a.m.
Aug 25, '10
Well, you can go to the BLS website, but there is no exact link. You have to query a database and then do the math yourself.
9:51 a.m.
Aug 25, '10
As a side note, if you can phrase statistics so it's easy to understand what you're saying, that'd be helpful. I think you're finding interesting numbers, but I'm not sure.
For example:
"medical care in the Portland/Salem area rose 81% since mid-2000."
What does that mean? Costs of health insurance? Money spent on health care? Percentage of income spent on health care? Money spent by the state on medical care? Jobs in medical care? And does it include inflation (seems not to, given your sentence later in the post)?
1:09 p.m.
Aug 26, '10
I believe it. And in reading an article this week that graduating doctors are turning down $190 thousand a year as GPs or internists because it's not enough, something is really out of balance. Medical providers, corporate insurers all have outrageous expectations for affluent life styles. It should be no wonder that medical costs are sinking us.
9:41 p.m.
Aug 26, '10
Single. Payer.