Access to retirement and medical benefits by occupation, March 2015

Retirement benefits were available to 66 percent of private industry workers in the United States in March 2015. Access to benefits differed among some occupational groups. Among workers in management, professional, and related occupations in private industry, 80 percent had access to retirement benefits—compared with 39 percent in service occupations.

Medical care benefits were available to 69 percent of private industry workers in March 2015. Within private industry, 87 percent of workers in management, professional, and related occupations had access to medical care, compared with 41 percent in service occupations.

More, including charts, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

First Consumer Price Index decline for medical care services in nearly 40 years

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is best known for our monthly job and inflation reports. We also publish data on many other topics, ranging from how Americans spend their time and money to workplace injuries and the growth of entrepreneurship. My new blog series, “Why This Counts,” will explain why we conduct our surveys and how people can use the data at work and home. I hope this series will take the mystery out of our data and make our work come to life for both new and advanced users.

In the March 24 Consumer Price Index release, one interesting item caught my eye. The seasonally adjusted index for medical care services declined 0.2 percent in February 2015, its first decline since November 1975. That’s a long time ago

Health stats: medical visits, heart disease, Rx, C-sections, more

From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Dental Expenditures in the 10 Largest States, 2010
Estimates of Health Care Expenditures for the 10 Largest States, 2010
Heart Disease Among Elderly Americans: Estimates for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2010
Heart Disease Among Near Elderly Americans: Estimates for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2010
MEPS HC-144B: 2011 Dental Visits
MEPS HC-144C: 2011 Other Medical Expenses
MEPS HC-144H: 2011 Home Health File
Origin of Adverse Drug Events in U.S. Hospitals, 2011
Overview of Children in the Emergency Department, 2010
Prescription Drug Expenditures in the 10 Largest States, 2010


National Center for Health Statistics

Births: Final Data for 2011
Changes in Cesarean Delivery Rates by Gestational Age: United States, 1996–2011
Disability Questions Tests 2012 File

America's Health Care Cost Crisis and What to Do About It

The passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, after much deliberation and debate, has set the framework for how health care coverage is discussed in the United States. According to Rockefeller Institute Senior Fellow Richard Nathan, the real challenge, however, lies ahead as lawmakers attempt to implement the law in the face of many uncertainties. Nathan argues that, in the politicized and frenetic current budget process, expert opinion and deliberation are often lost.

Nathan advocates the creation of a new institutional mechanism to "monitor and react to changing conditions" and to provide valuable feedback to the president and Congress on what legislative changes are necessary to adapt the health care law to the unclear political and economic landscape. He proposes the creation of an entity ---- similar to the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction commission ---- to recommend gradual reform that is informed by expertise and research. The commission will not completely remove politics from the process, but will provide the government with valuable input on what course corrections are needed to meet the goals of the new law.

Nathan also examines five major players in the health care economy and the evolving role that intermediary organizations can play for consumers in counterbalancing the power of providers.

For a full copy of the report, visit www.rockinst.org.

U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health

Here are recent health statistics:

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - Costs for Hospital Stays in the United States, 2010

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - Emergency Department Visits and Hospital Inpatient Stays for Seasonal and 2009 H1N1 Influenza, 2008–2009

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - 1999-2009 Cancer Incidence and Mortality Data

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - National Health Care Expenses in the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2010

National Academy of Sciences - U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health

Fertility Rates, Costly Medical Conditions, and Obesity

National Center for Health Statistics - Recent Trends in Births and Fertility Rates Through June 2011 [PDF]
The provisional count of births in the United States for the 12-month period ending June 2011 was 3,978,000, which was 2 percent lower than the provisional count of 4,057,000 for the 12-month period ending June 2010. This continues the decline in the number of births from the all-time high of 4,316,233 in 2007; the rate of decline appears to have slowed from January 2011 to June 2011.
The provisional fertility rate in the United States for the 12-month period ending June 2011 declined as well, down 2 percent to 64.4 births per 1,000 women aged 15–44 from 65.5 for the 12-month period ending June 2010. This continues the decline in the fertility rate from the 17-year high of 69.5 in 2007, but again, the rate of decline appears to have slowed in the first 6 months of 2011.

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - The Concentration of Health Care Expenditures and Related Expenses for Costly Medical Conditions, 2009 [PDF]
In 2009, health care expenses among the U.S. community population totaled $1.26 trillion. Medical care expenses, however, are highly concentrated among a relatively small proportion of individuals in the community population. As reported previously in 1996, the top 1 percent of the U.S. population accounted for 28 percent of the total health care expenditures and the top 5 percent for more than half. More recent data have revealed that over time there has been some decrease in the extent of this concentration at the upper tail of the expenditure distribution. Furthermore, medical expenditures have been concentrated for the treatment of certain types of highly prevalent conditions or for which treatment often entails the use of high-cost services

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - Obesity Update 2012 [PDF]
The obesity epidemic slowed down in several OECD countries during the past three years. Rates grew less than previously projected, or did not grow at all, according to new data from ten OECD countries. Child obesity rates also stabilised in England, France, Korea and United States. However, rates remain high and social disparities in obesity are unabated. Many governments have stepped up efforts to tackle the root causes of obesity, embracing increasingly comprehensive strategies and involving
communities and key stakeholders. There has been a new interest in the use of taxes on foods rich in fat and sugar, with several governments (e.g. Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary) passing new legislation in 2011.