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Technology Growth and Expenditure Growth in U.S. Health Care. Amitabh Chandra Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University Jonathan Skinner Department of Economics, Dartmouth College The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice. Funding from the National Institute on
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Technology Growth and Expenditure Growth in U.S. Health Care Amitabh Chandra Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University Jonathan Skinner Department of Economics, Dartmouth College The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice Funding from the National Institute on Aging and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Hall and Jones (QJE 2007): Health Care Spending Should Rise Over Time
Health Care Expenditures as a Fraction of GDP: Selected Countries
Growth in Health Care Costs (as % of GDP), Selected Countries: 1980-2006
Variations in Regional Growth Rates… Fisher, EF, J Bynum, JS Skinner, New Engl J Med, 2009.
Stent Rates by Province, 1994-2005 Source: Therese Stukel, ISIS. Per 100,000 age 20+. Age/sex adjusted Except QC which is to 2004
The Supply Side: What Do Health Care Providers Maximize? Health care providers maximize the perceived health of their patients given financial constraints or incentives, but may be constrained by resource capacity, ethical judgments, and patient demand
The Physician’s Optimization Problem Patient must be better off Capacity constraint Physician income Saving Lives: Good for Society Which implies….
Dynamics of the model Productivity Change Health Gains minus Costs
Dynamics of the model Productivity Change Cost-effectiveness of the kth input
Three Categories of Health Care Treatments The diffusion of highly productive innovations
Highly Cost-Effective: Aspirin Post-MI Source: Swartz, MN, NEJM Oct 28, 2004
Cost-Effective Treatment (-s” Large in Magnitude) Dollar value of treatment (at $100K per life year) Cost per patient x x*
Average Productivity is High Too Dollar value of treatment (at $100K per life year) Cost per patient Total Cost x x*
Three Categories of Health Care Treatments The diffusion of highly productive innovations Potentially cost-effective but with heterogeneous benefits across patients
For Some, Highly Cost-Effective Value of Quality-Adjusted Life Years ($100K/yr) Ψ s’(x) Primary PCI Cost per PCI Occusion post MI/ no angina Stable Angina # Patients
Average Productivity of Stents: Less Impressive! Value of Quality-Adjusted Life Years ($100K/yr) Ψ s’(x) Cost per PCI Total Cost # Patients X’
Three Categories of Health Care Treatments The diffusion of highly productive innovations Potentially cost-effective but with heterogeneous benefits across patients Technologies with uncertain or low benefits
Percent of Deaths Associated with ICU Staysand Medicare Expenditures Corr. Coeff = .80
How to Think About Health Care Cost and Aggregate Productivity Growth
Hypothetical Provider-Specific Measures of Quality & SpendingIs it a positive or negative correlation? Survival/Quality Spending
Health Care Costs in the U.S. Growing Relatively Faster Source: Garber and Skinner, JEP, 2008
But Survival Gains in the U.S. Falling Behind Source: Garber and Skinner, JEP 2008
Weisbrod’s Prediction: Too Soon? Thus, under a prospective payment finance mechanism, the health care delivery system sends a vastly different signal to R & D sector, with priorities the reverse of those under retrospective payment. The new signal is as follows: Develop new technologies that reduce costs, provided that quality does not suffer “too much.” (p. 537, italics in text.)
Can U.S. Health Care Reform Work? Hospital/physician networks Rewarded for providing high-quality low-cost care Key component – incentives to adapt cost-saving technologies that reduce fragmentation and poorly coordinated care Health Affairs, 2009
Summing Up Enormous degree of heterogeneity in cost-effectiveness of health care Big potential for cost-saving technologies – in all countries! Rising taxes – ultimate brake on health care spending
Health Care Growth: Limited by Tax BurdenTax/GDP (1985) and Change in Health Expenditures 1980-2007 U.S. ρ2 = -0.47 Portugal France Canada Denmark Ireland Sweden