In the debate over health care, cost-shifting has become a familiar phrase. Whenever a doctor or hospital charges one patient more in order to make up for what another patient doesn’t pay, cost-shifting takes place.
It has been called a hidden tax on everyone who pays health insurance premiums, but until now, no really knew the size of if.
As part of a larger effort to get a more detailed view of health care in the Granite state, a new report finds that in New Hampshire alone, the cost-shifting tax adds up to over 220 million dollars a year.
New Hampshire Public Radio’s Jon Greenberg has more.
See the study here
If the 220 million dollars were collected like any other tax, it would be one of the state’s biggest revenue sources.
Doug Hall, co-executive director of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies says anyone who pays for care directly or who buys insurance ends up covering these costs.
CUT .. MAYBE 300%
Hall emphasizes, the exact amount will vary depending on the hospital and the procedure. His numbers only apply in the aggregate. Hall also says, his estimate is low because it doesn’t include work done at the doctor’s office.
But Hall is certain about one thing. The single greatest cause of cost-shifting is the federal program for the elderly, Medicare. Hall says most people haven’t known how large the problem is.
CUT … PAY THE FULL AMOUNT.
Between cost shifting and insurance company profits and administrative costs, Hall says for every $1,000 a company pays in health insurance, it gets back about 700 dollars in actual care.
Hall released his findings at a large health care gathering in Manchester. The target audience was the business community and the main point was that when it comes to the details of health care, just about everybody is in the dark.
To Ned Helms, director of the New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy and Practice, says without those details, the state has little chance of controlling rising health care costs.
CUT … ALWAYS BE FLAWED.”
A statewide survey released at the meeting found that 80% of the public wants the government to get involved although in what way is unclear.
Helms and others at the meeting argued that at the very least, government could help fill the information gap.
CUT HELMS … ABOUT WHERE WE CAN GO.”
In recent years, employers in the state have been dealing with double digit increases in insurance costs. As one state official put it, the last wave of cost control, the HMO, is dead. The hope now is that putting more people in touch with the details of health care will be the next big thing.
For NHPR News, I’m Jon Greenberg
