Lao Voices

As a follow up to the long and prosperous post, it was time to elaborate on the costs of health care in the US. For this, I use a report of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that takes hospital charges as a proxy for the rate of increases and to show where the biggest increases are taking place.

The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality says American hospitals charged $873 billion in 2005, which is an 89 percent increase in charges from the $462 billion charged in 1997. At the current rate of increase researchers estimate that the annual national hospital bill may reach $1 trillion (that is 1 + 12 zeros) by 2008, excluding physician bills.

The report found that one-fifth of the national hospital bill was for treatment of just five conditions: coronary artery disease ($46 billion), pregnancy and childbirth ($44 billion), newborn infant care ($35 billion), heart attack ($32 billion), and congestive heart failure ($30 billion).

It also found that for 10 conditions, growth was greater than the average of all hospital stays. They are: sepsis, 189 percent; chest pain, 181 percent; respiratory failure, 171 percent; back pain, 170 percent; osteoarthritis, 165 percent; irregular heart beat, 131 percent; procedure complications, 120 percent; congestive heart failure, 117 percent; medical device complications, 113 percent; and diabetes 97 percent.

Almost two-thirds of the national bill for hospital care was billed to two government payers, Medicare ($411 billion) and Medicaid ($124 billion), while $272 billion was billed to private insurance.

As you can see, Medicare was the biggest primary payer in 2005 and is growing steadily. As you know, Medicare is for retired US citizens. US elderly are using new technologies to improve their life in an increasing rate and they live longer.

The only sensible category where illegal immigrants could be positioned in this pie chart is in the Other/Missing segment contributing 3,2 percent of the total costs. Suppose, for the sake of argument (and this is really an overestimation) that 3,2 percent within the other/missing category are all illegal immigrants, then this would imply they take out less than $28 billion out of $873 billion total health care costs.

Conclusion: illegal immigrants are not a substantial problem in the rise of US health care costs (not more than say inflation), elderlies living in the US are.

Case closed. Now teach facts