Rising Medicare costs linked to the growth in common costly chronic conditions: Study

Leading Health and Fiscal Policy Experts Discuss Implications for Medicare, Entitlement Reform

Today, two of the nation's leading health and fiscal policy experts discussed how to reign in rising health care costs in Medicare in light of a new Health Affairs study that shows rising Medicare costs in the nation's health care system are linked to the growth in several common costly chronic conditions, such as diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, and kidney disease.

Ken Thorpe, Ph.D., Executive Director, Emory University's Center for Entitlement Reform; Chair, Department of Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University; and Executive Director of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, joined David Walker, President and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former Comptroller General of the United States, to talk about the findings of the study, which he co-authored, and offer a perspective on solutions to this impending fiscal crisis.  

"Projected growth in Medicare spending is the single largest factor behind projections of unsustainably high deficits – and people are rightly asking: 'What can we do about it?'" said Thorpe. "This study shows that in order to control Medicare spending, we must arrest the growth in chronic illnesses and related issues such as obesity. By doing so, we can do better for seniors as well as America."

In "Unexpected Reasons For Medicare Spending Increases, 1987-2006," Dr. Thorpe and his colleagues Lydia Ogden, M.A., M.P.P., and Katya Galactionova, M.A., at the Emory University Center for Entitlement Reform found that increased spending on chronic diseases over the past two decades resulted from rising incidence, not increased screening and diagnoses.

"While this data might come as a surprise to many, it illustrates the urgent need to improve prevention and wellness among seniors as well as younger Americans," said Thorpe, who noted that more than half of all Medicare beneficiaries are treated for five or more chronic conditions each year, and ninety-nine percent of every health care dollar spent in Medicare is for treating patients with chronic conditions.

While arresting the growth in chronic disease will require a multifaceted, long-term approach one immediate solution promoted by Thorpe is adoption of community health teams and other care coordination models in Medicare, as beneficiaries often receive episodic care from multiple providers who rarely coordinate the care they deliver.  

"Community Health Teams are one of several ways to better coordinate health care for seniors in order to improve health outcomes and reduce unnecessary spending in Medicare," said Thorpe, who emphasized that "inaction is not an option."

Mary Rubino of Health Affairs, whose organization hosted the briefing along with the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, Emory University's Center for Entitlement Reform and the PFCD, moderated the discussion. The article by Thorpe and his co-authors was published online on Feb. 18, and was partially funded by a grant from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. More information can be found on the PFCD's Web site at www.fightchronicdisease.org.