Healthcare in America
November, 2007
“The American people spent nearly $2.1 trillion on health care in 2006 -- more than was spent on food -- yet Americans aren't exceptionally healthy or long-lived as a result. They have shorter life expectancies than people in Western Europe, Canada and Japan and are no less hindered by disease than their counterparts in other developed countries."
Healthcare Coverage
The number of people in the U.S. without health insurance coverage rose to 47 million in 2006, or 15.8% of the population, up from 44.8 million, or 15.3%, in 2005. (US Census Bureau)
Of the nearly 45 million Americans without health insurance, nearly one-quarter or more than 10 million are children. (US Census Bureau)
The large majority of the uninsured (80 percent) are native or naturalized citizens. (National Coalition on Healthcare)
The percentage of people (workers and dependents) with employment-based health insurance has dropped from 70 percent in 1987 to 59.5 percent in 2005. This is the lowest level of employment-based insurance coverage in more than a decade (National Coalition on Healthcare)
People who are uninsured receive less care and have worse outcomes following an accident or the onset of a new chronic condition than those with insurance. (Dr. Jack Hadley of The Urban Institute)
Visit http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.shtml for more information about the reasons for and impact of an uninsured population.
Medical Errors (Institutes of Medicine)
Medical errors are rising—and account for an estimated 98,000 needless deaths each year. That's more than die from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer and AIDS—making medical errors the fifth leading cause of death in this country.
Medical errors cost the Nation approximately $37.6 billion each year; about $17 billion of those costs are associated with preventable errors.
Medication errors alone result in over 7,000 deaths and 1.5 million injuries annually
Other documented errors include removing healthy limbs and organs, prescribing drugs in combinations that are known to cause adverse reactions and leaving medical items inside surgical patients.
Emergency Departments (CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics)
An average of 4,500 EDs were in operation in the United States during 2003 and 2004.
Over half the EDs saw fewer than 20,000 patients annually, but 1 out of 10 had an annual visit volume of more than 50,000 patients.
Most EDs use outside contractors to provide physicians (64.7 percent).
Half of EDs in metropolitan areas had more than 5 percent of their nursing positions vacant.
Approximately one-third of U.S. hospitals reported having to divert an ambulance to another emergency department due to overcrowding or staffing shortages at their ED.
Nearly half of emergency departments (ED) are “at” or “over” capacity, with a majority of urban hospitals experiencing time on diversion
Percent of hospitals citing factor as number one reason for ambulance diversion, January 2007 (American Hospital Association)