Friday, September 03, 2004

Which Medical Conditions Account For The Rise In Health Care Spending?
Health Affairs article - "We calculate the level and growth in health care spending attributable to the fifteen most expensive medical conditions in 1987 and 2000. Growth in spending by medical condition is decomposed into changes attributable to rising cost per treated case, treated prevalence, and population growth. We find that a small number of conditions account for most of the growth in health care spending—the top five medical conditions accounted for 31 percent. For four of the conditions, a rise in treated prevalence, rather than rising treatment costs per case or population growth, accounted for most of the spending growth." The article notes that "the prevalence of mental disorders has remained relatively stable over time; however, rates of treatment have been rising.13 The sharp rise in treated prevalence reflects two trends: increasing recognition and diagnosis of mental disorders, particularly depression and a rapid expansion of new psychotropic medications. Given the historical underdiagnosis and treatment of disorders such as depression, this wider use of treatments, and the associated increase in health care spending, is likely to represent benefits that outweigh the cost  
  

Congress Can Preserve $1.1 Billion in Expiring Children's Health Insurance Funds and Help Avert SCHIP Cutbacks
A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities - "When Congress returns from its summer recess, it will have the opportunity to enact bipartisan legislation to extend the availability of nearly $1.1 billion in expiring federal funds for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Such legislation would help lessen or defer looming cuts in children’s health insurance enrollment by providing more adequate federal funding to states that will face federal SCHIP funding shortfalls over the next several years...." Also available in Adobe Acrobat format.  
  

Texas Merges Drug Treatment, Mental Health Services
Join Together item based on a Houston Chronicle story - "Saying their goal is improving public health, Texas government officials are dissolving the state Department of Health, the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation to create two new agencies: the Department of State Health Services and the Department of Aging and Disability Services..."