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Containing Health Costs and Improving Efficiency: An Analysis of State Options
Updated May 8, 2013
Project Purpose and Scope
The cost of health and health care in the United States for years has been a highly visible topic of discussion for consumers, employers, state and federal policymakers and the media. This NCSL project researched and compiled a series of briefs aimed at a broad audience, providing options and examples of successful and experimental efforts to control health costs.
NCSL Issue briefs are being distributed to legislators and legislative staff interested in health, fiscal, budget, revenue and related issues across the country. NCSL is making the information accessible on its Web site and will maintain and update an easy-to-read table of cost containment strategies. NCSL has presented the information at meetings nationally and in individual states as requested.
State Legislatures Magazine - A 2012 Health Cost Series was published in the June and the July-August issues. The articles include summaries of five additional cost containment topics. An online Health Cost Containment supplement provides more detail and sources for the two articles, Health Costs: Improving the Bottom Line and Health Costs: Great Ideas for Cutting Costs.
Download or print briefs below:
One of the most frequent health-related questions legislators ask NCSL is, "What can we do that works to control health costs?" In Colorado, health expenditures (including federal funds) currently account for more than 25% of the state budget; among all states, the figure is 32%, often making state government the largest health care purchaser. With health costs rising by two to three times the Consumer Price Index, it is difficult for states to simply maintain the programs they have, let alone undertake strategies to cover additional uninsured populations. Understandably, there is high demand for good information about what legislatures can do to control costs. Issues of cost containment have become particularly relevant in recent months as federal health reform has become a priority and as deepening state budget deficits are forcing legislators to decrease state spending wherever possible. Unfortunately, there is no one place to go for concise, state-specific, evidence-based information provided by credible sources.
Activities
This project's goal was to produce concise, evidence-based analyses for up to 25 state cost containment strategies. The ultimate aim of the project is to ensure that state legislators and other stakeholders have access to quality information regarding cost containment strategies. The project will do in-depth research on selected state strategies to uncover and analyze the evidence base regarding their effectiveness. Project staff will consult with key Colorado legislators, legislative and executive branch staff and other state cost containment experts in Colorado and across the country.
Project staff will also review the findings and recommendations of the Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform related to health cost containment and efficiency issues, existing work by the Colorado Health Care Task Force, priorities identified by The Colorado Health Foundation and the Rose Community Foundation and federal health reform changes that will affect the topics selected for focus by the project.
Products
The project will produce a series of four page briefs (one for each cost containment strategy) that will do the following:
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Describe the strategy and its target (e.g., overuse of services, fraud, etc.);
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Provide examples of state and other implementation and experience, where available;
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Describe provisions of the federal health reform law of 2010 that may relate to the approach;
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Indicate evidence of its effectiveness (including cost savings and the cost of the intervention; whether the evidence may apply to only specific circumstances; where controlling costs in one area may lead to higher costs in another area; and other positive or negative effects, such as provider participation levels);
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Best sources of information on the topic;
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Colorado-specific information, contained in a separate supplement.
Federal Health Reform
Several cost containment approaches are included in the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law in March 2010. Some federal provisions build upon programs already used by some states. Other sections of the law provide new options, challenges and grant opportunities for states that choose to create a new policy or program in future years. These examples are described in each brief where applicable. For reference to the content from each brief, visit State Health Cost Containment and Federal Health Reforms.
NCSL National Presentations
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Health Costs: Payment Reforms - NCSL Fall Forum, Phoenix, Arizona, December 10, 2010. [Summary Page]
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Taming Health Costs: States Making a Difference- NCSL Legislative Summit, Louisville, Kentucky, Tuesday, July 27, 2010.
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Containing Health Costs and Improving Efficiency: State Options- NCSL Fall Forum, San Diego, California, December 11, 2009.
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Cost Containment in Medicaid - North Carolina, September 2010.
Additional Health Costs Resources
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2011 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report - The Report: tracks changes in health care prices, utilization, and spending on people younger than 65 covered by employer-sponsored private health insurance (ESI). HCCI found that average dollars spent on health care services for that population climbed 4.6 percent in 2011, reaching $4,547 per person. This was well above the 3.8 percent growth rate observed in 2010. Published by Health Care Cost Institute, Sept. 2012. Download full PDF | Press Release
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When The Cost Curve Bent- Pre-Recession Moderation in Health Care Spending- An "analysis of monthly data on health care spending shows that the moderation in growth began well before the recession and has continued through May 2012." The New England Journal of Medicine reported in August, 2012.
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2012 edition of America’s Health Rankings and related materials, released Dec. 11, 2012. Download Press Release | Download 2012 Report (132 pp PDF file)
Highlight:
Massachusetts 2012 State Cost Reform Law - The Massachusetts legislature passed a bill, signed into law August 6, 2012, to limit the growth of health care costs. The "Act improving the quality of health care and reducing costs through increased transparency, efficiuency and innovation," S.2400 is available in full text and as a four-page summary. The new law allows health spending to grow no faster than the state’s economy through 2017, defined as the state’s gross state product (GSP). For five years after that, spending would slow further, to half a percentage point below the growth of the economy, although leaders would have the power under certain circumstances to soften that target. The bill also includes provisions to encourage a shift to paying hospitals and doctors for overall patient care rather than for every test and treatment.
"Without creating large new bureaucracies or using heavy-handed, one-size-fits-all regulations, we will be encouraging the marketplace to continue to move to payments based on value to patients rather than volume of care," Senator Richard T. Moore, a lead sponsor said. “We are ushering in the end of the fee-for-service care system in Massachusetts in favor of better care, at lower cost,” Governor Duval Patrick said at the signing ceremony at the State House. Authors calculated that this law will result in savings of up to $200 billion over the next 15 years.
News: "Patrick signs health cost bill" - article by Boston Globe, 8/7/2012
> Video: CBS Video: Watch Josh Archambault vs. Health Financing Chair Rep. Steve Walsh on New Health Care Law's Cost. |
> "Governor Patrick signs health care overhaul bill" - Watch video: WWLP 22 News: | > Coffee and Markets: "RomneyCare 2.0 Comes to Massachusetts
> Lessons From Massachusetts For Payment Reform And Cost Control - read article in Health Affairs online Sepember 18, 2012 
In the News
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Administration offers consumers a detailed look at hospital charges. On May 8, 2013 Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a three-part initiative that for the first time gives consumers detailed information on what hospitals charge. New data released show significant variation across the country and within communities in what hospitals charge for common inpatient services. “Currently, consumers don’t know what a hospital is charging them or their insurance company for a given procedure, like a knee replacement, or how much of a price difference there is at different hospitals, even within the same city,” Secretary Sebelius said. “This data and new data centers will help fill that gap.” The data posted as of May 8 on CMS’s website include information comparing the charges for services that may be provided during the 100 most common Medicare inpatient stays. Hospitals determine what they will charge for items and services provided to patients and these “charges” are the amount the hospital generally bills for an item or service. Read: News Release 5/8/13 | View the new hospital costs data
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A TIME magazine cover article, "Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills are Killing Us", provides a provocative, detailed examination of pricing and profits in health care. Sections: 1) Routine Care, Unforgettable Bills; 2) Medical Technologiy's Perverse Economics; 3) Catastrophic Illness - And the Bills to Match; 4) When Taxpayers Pick Up the Tab. Authored by Steven Brill in the March 4, 2013 edition.
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Survey of Charges Billed by Out-of-Network Providers: A Hidden Threat to Affordability. This new report released by the America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), in January 2013, finds that "health plans and their members routinely receive bills from physicians that are 10 to 20, or sometimes nearly 100 times higher than Medicare would allow."
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"The Cost of Obamacare's Coverage Provisions." "The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated Tuesday that the “ObamaCare” provisions to expand health insurance coverage will cost about $1.165 trillion over the next ten years, after taking into consideration $455 billion worth of penalty payments, taxes, and other effects on tax revenue and outlays. This chart doesn’t take into account Medicare savings (potentially hundreds of billions of dollars) and the like, only how much the coverage provisions will cost. While the net cost of the coverage provisions remains the same as the prior CBO report, there have been revisions in regards to how many people will be covered over the next ten years. After the new revisions, CBO estimates about 12 million more people will be covered by Medicaid and 26 million more by those who buy insurance in the new exchanges. Seven million people will lose their employer-based insurance as businesses prefer to pay a fine than their employees' health insurance, but overall, 27 million more people will be insured over the next ten years." Published by TIME, Alex Rogers, author, February 5, 2013;
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> The February 2013 CBO report is online: The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2013 to 2023
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According to the New York Times article, Study of U.S. Health Care System Finds Both Waste and Opportunity to Improve, "the American medical system squanders 30 cents of every dollar spent on health care, according to new calculations by the respected Institute of Medicine. But in all that waste and misuse, policy experts and economists see a significant opportunity — a way to curb runaway health spending, to improve medical outcomes and even to put the economy on sounder footing." Written by Annie Lowrie and published September 11, 2012.
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Healthcare costs for American families in 2012 exceed $20,000 for the first time - The annual Milliman Medical Index (MMI) measures the total cost of healthcare for a typical family of four covered by a preferred provider organization (PPO) plan. The 2012 MMI cost is $20,728, an increase of $1,335, or 6.9% over 2011. The rate of increase is not as high as in the past, but the total dollar increase was still a record. This is the first year the average cost of healthcare for the typical American family of four has surpassed $20,000 (Published 5/15/2012).
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A nationwide poll released June 11, 2012 confirmed that high health costs, as well as the ability to keep health insurance, are significant worries for the public. When asked about their level of worry on a number of health-related and other economic concerns, nearly two-thirds (64%) of the public says they are “very worried” or “somewhat worried” about having to pay more for health care and health insurance, ranking roughly as high as other top public worries such as prices rising faster than income (69%) and not having enough money for retirement (65%), and ahead of such concerns as being unable to pay the rent or mortgage (40%) and losing a job (35%). The results are according to recent polling by the Kaiser Family Foundation, conducted in mid-May.
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Let's (Not) Get Physicals -For decades, scientific research has shown that annual physical exams — and many of the screening tests that routinely accompany them — are in many ways pointless or (worse) dangerous, because they can lead to unneeded procedures. The last few years have produced a steady stream of new evidence against the utility of popular tests. New York Times, June 3, 2012.
NCSL Project Advisory Group:
The project had an Advisory Group comprised of Health Committee officers and other key legislators recommended by Colorado leadership to help guide the project, identify strategies of particular interest and ensure the briefing papers meet their needs.
Project Staff: are based at the NCSL Health Program, Denver, Colorado.
Richard Cauchi, Program Director; Martha King, Group Director; Barbara Yondorf, Health Consultant.
Additional project research and support provided by: Kara Nett Hinkley (Policy Associate, 2012), Katie Mason (Policy Associate), Ashley DePaulis (Policy Associate), Andrew Thangasamy (Research Assistant, 2009), Niaira Posniak (Research Analyst, 2009-2010), Leann Stelzer (Editor) and Alise Garcia (Senior Staff Assistant).
NCSL appreciates the support in 2009-2011 from The Colorado Health Foundation and the Rose Community Foundation (Denver) for this project.
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Issues & Resources
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