Fast Fact

Terrance Heath's picture

CAF STAFF

More Uninsured Children

In 2006, 11.7% of children, or 8.7 million kids, went without health insurance. That's up from the previous year, when 10.9%, or 8 million children, were uninsured.

Source
Alex Carter's picture

CAF STAFF

Americans Lack Health Insurance

47 million Americans lacked health insurance in 2006, up from 38 million in 2000.

Source
Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica Smith. “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006,” United States Census Bureau. August 2007. Available from: http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/p60-233.pdf
Molly Swartz's picture

CAF STAFF

Medicare becoming more cost-efficient

Medicare cost savings rose to $1.2 billion in 2006 from $136 million in 2001

Source
"Fewer Heart Attacks and Related Hospital Admissions Offset Rising Medicare Costs" PR-USA.net, 10 April 2008. http://www.pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=96792&Itemid=9
Molly Swartz's picture

CAF STAFF

Pharmacy Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Contributes to High Costs for Medicare Part D

Approximately 1 percent of prescription costs are likely due to fraud, waste, or abuse. This amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary costs for the Medicare Part D program and its beneficiaries.

Source
“Prompt Payment” Mandates Would Raise Costs Due to Pharmacy Fraud, Waste, and Abuse" Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, April 2008. http://www.pcmanet.org/assets/2008-04-10_Research_FINAL%20Fraud%20Detection%20Survey%20Findings%20April%202008.pdf
Molly Swartz's picture

CAF STAFF

Medicare is a large part of physicians' revenue

Medicare made up 22 percent of physicians’ revenue in 2006.

Source
"Census Report: Insurance Pays for Most Healthcare," Chiropractic Economics Magazine, December 2007. http://www.chiroeco.com/news/chiropractic-news.php?id=72&catid=52&title=Census%20report:%20Insurance%20pays%20for%20most%20healthcare
Molly Swartz's picture

CAF STAFF

Medicare out-of-pocket Costs Increase

Medicare beneficiaries will pay more out of pocket for their prescription drugs next year. The Part D standard benefit deductible will increase from $275 to $295 and the initial coverage limit — the threshold amount shared by the insurance company and the beneficiary — will increase from $2,510 to $2,700.

Source
Larry Lipman, "Part D thresholds increase for 2009," Austin American-Statesman, 8 April 2008. http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/washington/medicare_monitor/entries/2008/04/08/part_d_thresholds_increase_for.html
Molly Swartz's picture

CAF STAFF

With one month of Iraq War funding could have...

With one month of Iraq war funding we could have bought more than a year’s health insurance for the 4 million children Bush vetoed under SCHIP.

Source
“State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP): Reauthorization History,” The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, January 2008. http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7743.pdf
Molly Swartz's picture

CAF STAFF

Bush's vetoed children's healthcare while defending tax cuts for the wealthy

Bush vetoed spending $35 billion over five years to provide health care for 4 million children, while defending the tax break that allows billionaire hedge fund operators to pay a lower rate than their receptionists

Source
“State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP): Reauthorization History,” The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, January 2008. http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7743.pdf
Eric Lotke's picture

CAF STAFF

New GAO Report: Extra subsidy makes private Medicare Advantage more expensive than traditional Medicare

The GAO reports that Medicare spends more per beneficiary in private Medicare Advantage plans than it does for beneficiaries in the original Medicare program - a projected $54 billion more from 2009 to 2012.

Under Medicare Advantage, the government first reimburses insurance companies for medical expenditures. Then it provides an additional payment for nonmedical expenses such as marketing, sales and profits.

Source
U.S. Government Accountability Office, "MEDICARE ADVANTAGE: Higher Spending Relative to Medicare Fee-for-Service May Not Ensure Lower Out-of-Pocket Costs for Beneficiaries." February 28, 2008. http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08522t.pdf
Terrance Heath's picture

CAF STAFF

Drug Prices Increase Under Part D

Pharmaceutical companies have drastically raised prices on brand name drugs commonly prescribed to elderly people in Medicare Part D, since its implementation in 2006. The prices of 220 brand name drugs used by people in Part D increased by an average of 7.4 percent in 2007 — more than two times the general inflation rate. The average cost per perscription rose from $80 to $151 in 2007, threatening consumers by increasing the likelihood of higher premiums and the chance that people will fall into the gap created by this "donut hole," and increase their out-of-pocket spending.

Source