A review of data on the health sector of the United States.

This report presents data on the state of U.S. health care in mid-2000. It provides information on the number of uninsured and underinsured (with special attention to health coverage among Hispanics and drug coverage among seniors); the increasing costs of health care; inequalities in the socioeconomic, health, and medical spheres; and the role of corporate money in health care. Recent data are presented on the pharmaceutical industry (with special notes on drug industry lobbying, drug safety, the use of publicly funded research to boost industry profits, and drug marketing to physicians) and the hospital and nursing home industries (including Medicare HMOs). The author also summarizes the health proposals of the presidential candidates, recent health care legislation, and some health system changes in Canada.     

A review of data on the health sector of the United States.

This report provides data on the state of U.S. health care at the start of the new century. It reveals increasing numbers of uninsured and underinsured Americans; increasing costs for health insurance, health care services, and medicines; and increasing inequalities in health and in access to health care. The author also provides data on the current state of the pharmaceutical and health service industries, including Medicaid and Medicare HMOs. The results of some opinion polls on health care, conducted among physicians and the general public, are also summarized.     

A review of data on the health sector of the United States. May 2001.

This report presents data on the state of U.S. health care in early 2001. It provides information on the numbers of uninsured and underinsured and their difficulties in obtaining health care; the increasing costs of care; and medical, social, and economic inequalities. Data are presented on the state of the nations' health maintenance organizations (including Medicare HMOs), pharmaceutical industry, and hospital industry, and on the role of these industries' money in U.S. politics. The author also looks at some proposals on the Congressional agenda, and gives a summary of some reasons why tax credits won't work. Also provided is some recent information on the status of health care and health care systems elsewhere in the world.     

A review of data on the U.S. health sector Fall 2002.

This report presents information on the state of U.S. health care in mid-2002. It provides data on the uninsured and underinsured and their difficulties in finding health care; the increasing costs of care; health, social, and economic inequalities; and the role of corporate money in health care. Information is also presented on mental health care, the hospital and pharmaceutical industries, Medicare HMOs, and the state of nursing. The author then provides updates on Congressional activity and the results of polls on matters of health, and some data on health care systems elsewhere in the world.     

A review of data on the U.S. health sector spring 2006.

This report presents information on the state of the U.S. health system in the spring of 2006. It includes data on the uninsured and underinsured and their access to health care, on socioeconomic inequality in health care, and on the rising costs of the U.S. health system. It also presents information on the role of corporate money in health care, focusing on the pharmaceutical industry, Medicare HMOs, and corporate-government conflicts of interest. The author includes a survey of recent public opinion polls on health care and health system reform and an update on the U.S. national health insurance legislation. The article ends by reviewing recent data on international health systems and international system comparisons.     

Public sector employer evaluation of health plans in the United States

Recently, public employers have experimented with different types of health plans including Indemnity, Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) and Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans. This study examines factors that are related to municipal employer satisfaction with each type of plan. The data are drawn from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) of municipal healthcare practices in 3301 US cities. Many more cities than anticipated used only indemnity plans, although there was widespread experimentation with managed care plans. Jurisdictions that offered only one type of plan showed highest satisfaction levels with HMOs, followed by PPOs and indemnity plans. In jurisdictions that offered multiple plans, patterns of satisfaction varied with the types of plans involved. Three factors were found to be correlated with employer plan satisfaction. As employee complaints and cost to the jurisdiction increased, plan satisfaction decreased. As the number of services offered by a plan increased, plan satisfaction also increased. While most municipalities contracted for health plans as individual employers, a small proportion contracted as part of a consortium: there was no statistically significant difference in satisfaction levels between the two arrangements. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

United States life tables, 2002.

This report presents period life tables for the United States based on age-specific death rates in 2002. Data used to prepare these life tables are 2002 final mortality statistics; July 1, 2002, population estimates based on the 2000 decennial census and data from the Medicare program. Presented are complete life tables by age, race, and sex. In 2002 the overall expectation of life at birth was 77.3 years, representing an increase of 0.1 years from life expectancy in 2001. Between 2001 and 2002, life expectancy increased for both males and females. Life expectancy increased by 0.2 years for black males (from 68.6 to 68.8). It increased by 0.1 year for white males (from 75.0 to 75.1), for white females (from 80.2 to 80.3), and for black females (from 75.5 to 75.6).     

Marital status and health: United States, 1999-2002

OBJECTIVE: This report presents prevalence estimates by marital status for selected health status and limitations, health conditions, and health risk behaviors among U.S. adults, using data from the 1999-2002 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS). METHODS: Data for the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population were collected using computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI). The household response rate for the NHIS was 88.7%. This report is based on a total of 127,545 interviews with sample adults aged 18 years and over, representing an overall response rate of 72.4% for the 4 years combined. Statistics were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population. Marital status categories shown in this report are: married, widowed, divorced or separated, never married, and living with a partner. RESULTS: Regardless of population subgroup (age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, education, income, or nativity) or health indictor (fair or poor health, limitations in activities, low back pain, headaches, serious psychological distress, smoking, or leisure-time physical inactivity), married adults were generally found to be healthier than adults in other marital status categories. Marital status differences in health were found in each of the three age groups studied (18-44 years, 45-64 years, and 65 years and over), but were most striking among adults aged 18-44 years. The one negative health indicator for which married adults had a higher prevalence was overweight or obesity. Married adults, particularly men, had high rates of overweight or obesity relative to adults in other marital status groups across most population subgroups studied. Never married adults were among the least likely to be overweight or obese.     

Preliminary FoodNet data on the incidence of foodborne illnesses--selected sites,United States, 2002

In the United States, an estimated 76 million persons contract foodborne illnesses each year. CDC's Emerging Infections Program Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) collects data on 10 foodborne diseases in nine U.S. sites. FoodNet follows trends in foodborne infections by using laboratory-based surveillance for culture-confirmed illness caused by several enteric pathogens commonly transmitted through food. This report describes preliminary surveillance data for 2002 and compares them with 1996-2001 data. The data indicate a sustained decrease in major bacterial foodborne illnesses such as Campylobacter and Listeria, indicating progress toward meeting the national health objectives of reducing the incidence of foodborne infections by 2010 (objectives 10-1a to 10-1d). However, the data do not indicate a sustained decline in other major foodborne infections such as Escherichia coli O157 and Salmonella, indicating that increased efforts are needed to reduce further the incidence of foodborne illnesses.     

The distribution of public spending for health care in the United States, 2002

U.S. health care spending is projected to approach $2.4 trillion in 2008; a large share will be paid by government outlays and tax subsidies. Other countries routinely conduct incidence analyses of public health care spending, yet we know of no recent and comprehensive incidence studies for the United States. We examined data for 2002 from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey aligned to the National Health Expenditure Accounts and augmented with simulated tax subsidies. The public sector accounted for 56.1 percent of health spending within the civilian noninstitutionalized population. Our analysis highlights this sector's role in financing the care of seniors and people in poor health.     

Report from the United States: the U.S. health crisis deepens amid rising inequality--a review of data, fall 2011

This report presents information on the state of the U.S. health system in late 2011. The authors include data on the uninsured and the underinsured and their access to health care, socioeconomic inequality in care, the rising costs of the U.S. health system, and the role of corporate money in health care, with special reference to the pharmaceutical industry and the hospice industry. They also provide updates on Medicaid and Medicare and on the new federal health care law. Some information on health care systems elsewhere in the world is also included.     

Competitive health plans and alternative payment arrangements for physicians in the United States: public sector examples.

The Medicaid program in the United States is moving to a competitive managed care system whereby patients no longer have freedom of choice of physicians and physicians are given incentives to provide care cost effectively. The wide variety of competitive managed care programs represents attempts to introduce rationality into the relationship between consumers and providers in a community. Early evidence, based largely on preliminary data analysis indicates that competing plans which place physicians at some financial risk and also employ administrative mechanisms, are more likely to show cost savings than health plans that do not employ these methods.     

Outbreak of listeriosis--northeastern United States, 2002

A multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections with 46 culture-confirmed cases, seven deaths, and three stillbirths or miscarriages in eight states has been linked to eating sliceable turkey deli meat. Cases have been reported from Pennsylvania (14 cases), New York (11 in New York City and seven in other locations), New Jersey (five), Delaware (four), Maryland (two), Connecticut (one), Massachusetts (one), and Michigan (one). Culture dates ranged from July 18 to September 30, 2002; case-finding is ongoing. Outbreak isolates share a relatively uncommon pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern.