Health Cost Containment
February 2006
In November of 2005, a Gallup Poll asked respondents to choose which healthcare issue was the most urgent problem facing our country. Overwhelmingly, the cost of care and barriers to the access of that care were their response.
Each year, state legislators and staff grapple with the seemingly endless increases in the cost of health care and health services. Newspapers, magazines and broadcast news are filled with reports on "Health coverage is unaffordable," "Spiraling Health Inflation Challenges Budgets" and "Health Program Cuts Loom".
NCSL has compiled several timely reports and materials that not only identify problems, but also present some solutions and alternatives.
The linked NCSL web pages on the right lead to specific documents you may read or download. They also include outside experts and individual state examples.
In particular, see the Balancing Health Needs with Resources series of eight papers, written by national experts over the past four years. Copies are free to Legislators and staff, and available for purchase by others.
A Framework for Considering Health Care Cost Containment
A Vision for a Compassionate and Affordable Health System
Aging in Place: State Policy Trends and Options (2005 - author: B. Yondorf, 35 pages)
Evidence-Based Medicine and State Health Policy
Investing in Cost-Effective Health Services and Strategies
Spending Wisely: Promoting a More Rational Health Care System Through Better Benefit Design
State Options for Expanding Health Care Access
The Oregon Experience: Prioritizing Services and Expanding Coverage |
