PAYING FOR HOSPITAL CARE
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Why is this important?
Health care costs are a major factor in almost every household budget. Costs associated with a single hospital stay may quickly wipe out savings and move people into debt. Thus, having some reliable and comfortable way of covering major medical costs is an important element in preserving our quality of life.
How are we doing?
Between 1995 and 2000, the rate of hospital care admissions covered by commercial insurance or HMO policies remained fairly steady at 43%. At that point, the percentage began to trend downward to 2006, when 38% of hospital care was covered by traditional insurance and HMO policies. In contrast, the trend has been just the reverse for Medicare coverage: 38% in 1995 and 43% in 2006. Similarly, the trend for reliance on Medicaid has been upward since 2001. In 2006, about 12% of hospitalizations were covered by Medicaid. That is a two percentage point increase from 2000. As would be expected the shift over the past decade between reliance on commercial insurance and HMO and Medicare has been more dramatic for adult hospitalizations. For pediatric care, there has been a similar decline in the use of commercial insurance and HMO plans. 67% of pediatric hospitalizations were paid for by those means in 2000. By 2006 the rate had dropped to 62%. In contrast, reliance on Medicaid for pediatric hospital care has increased. Medicaid was utilized for 25% of pediatric care in 2000. In 2006, Medicaid payments accounted for 27% of pediatric care.