This Can Never Be Said Too Often
by Lola Butcher
Ken Thorpe, PhD, health policy professor at Emory University, is one of health care’s important thinkers, and he recognizes that health care reform requires health reform. This is what he wants us to remember:
Six Unhealthy Truths Tell the Story of the Rise of Chronic Disease
and Its Impact on Health and Health Care in the U.S.
- Truth #1:Chronic diseases are the #1 cause of death and disability in the U.S.
- Truth #2:Patients with chronic diseases account for 75% of the nation’s health care spending.
- Truth #3:About two-thirds of the rise in health care spending is due to the rise in the prevalence of treated chronic disease.
- Truth #4:The doubling of obesity between 1987 and today accounts for nearly 30% of the rise in health care spending.
- Truth #5:The vast majority of cases of chronic disease could be better prevented or managed.
- Truth #6:Many Americans are unaware of the extent to which chronic disease harms their health –and their wallets.
