Military’s health care costs boomimg.

I am attending and presenting at the Fall Managed Care Forum in Orlando and after a workout began to read the USA today. They reported that Military health care costs rose 167% from 2001 to 2011. The reported increase was due to two causes one the surge in behavioral and physical problems for troops that have been deployed multiple times due to two wars. The other that is most problematic is the rise in retiree costs.  This is reportedly due to retired military leaving civilian insurance programs as the insurance companies and businesses prepare for and  get realigned for the recently passed healthcare reform law.  I suspect we will see more of this as the impact of the law and how businesses adjust and prepare for it. 

US Miliary healthcare spending increased twice as fast as US healthcare spending as a whole.  US healthcare spending increased by 84% over the same time period.  US military spending on healthcare increased from 6% to 9 % of the military’s budget.  They expect this to continue to increase. The Military is considering increasing the cost through fee hikes.

Pay for Prevention: A Strategy for Healthcare Prevention Shows Promise

With all the talk of healthcare or health insurance reform. There are lofty goals and a likelihood that cost will increase.  We will need to think outside the bx to have any real impact on healthcare cost. An idea that focuses on personal responsibility and health as opposed to illness is Pay for Prevention. A few large employers are working on Pay for Prevention. Pay for Prevention is a new strategy aimed at eliminating chronic health conditions associated with bad behavior by offering monetary incentives for leading a healthy lifestyle.  Recent studies have shown that 50 percent to 70 percent of the nation’s health care costs are preventable.  Such costs are usually associated with bad behaviors such as diet, lack of exercise, and smoking.  Healthcare providers, Insurers, and Employers are all jumping on board and the latest indications show that rewards for good behavior are much more effective than punishments for bad behavior.

Heart Attacks Increased with Depression

The NYT reported on February 24 about increased heart attacks after job loss.  Numerous studies have reported on stress, depression, and  job loss increaseing heart attack risk. The latest study in 2009 led by Sarah A. Burgard, a professor of sociology and epidemiology at the University of Michigan, found that “persistent perceived job insecurity” was itself a powerful predictor of poor health and might even be more damaging than actual job loss.  We recently posted a blog on behavioral health prevention.  We have a series of behavioral health prevention articles on our website that address several areas of behavioral health prevention.  I suspect that although the new mental health parity rules just release will dramatically increase healthcare costs one benefit may be increased behavioral health prevention of  other medical illnesses such as heart disease. We at BHM can help develop cost-effective management programs using detailed data analysis to improve cost effective care.  I will be posting more articles on this topic as reducing health care costs while maintaining quality is a national debate.

Reducing Depression May Decrease Heart Disease

A new study found that being happy, enthusiastic and positive can decrease risk of cardiovascular diseases. Previous studies had found that  depression, anger and hostility are important risk factors contributing to heart attack and stroke.  We have a series of articles that discuss behavioral health prevention and medical diseases.

According to the study published in the European Heart Journal, people who have high levels of anxiety and depression are at the highest risk of experiencing heart disorders. The article reports that  happy individuals are at a 22 percent lower risk of developing the condition as they are less stressed and are able to move on from upsetting experiences. Scientists believe happiness can also reduce the risk of heart disease through reducing a number of critical hormones.

While the study was not able to prove happiness is protective, scientists stressed that individuals should enjoy themselves in order to lower their risk of heart disease.  “Essentially spending a few minutes each day truly relaxed and enjoying yourself is certainly good for your mental health and may improve your physical health as well,” said lead researcher Karina W. Davidson.

NAMCP has partnered with us to write a five-part series on how behavioral health can prevent or reduce risk from a number of medical illnesses.  The mission of the NAMCP is to enhance the ability of practicing physicians and other health care professionals through accredited continuing medical education programs, research and communication, to succeed in managed care environments and integrated delivery systems.

• The NAMCP was founded in 1991 to serve the interests and needs of physicians working in any form of managed health care. NAMCP is a non-profit association run by physicians for physicians.
• Since physicians affect 85% of the expense side in health care, they should take a proactive role in developing the best delivery system for patients in managed health care, thereby increasing quality, reducing costs and improving practice performance and clinical outcomes.
• Physician-directed managed health care is important for all providers and patients. Today’s health care expenses exceed one trillion dollars; we believe physicians and patients should be educated about all aspects of managed health care in order to control costs and deliver high quality health care. New terms such as disease management and demand management will benefit patients if both physicians and patients understand and participate with these systems in a proactive manner. For any system to work, we must have educated patients as well as physicians, in order to make appropriate decisions in an examination room