There are many reasons health costs keep going up. Bigger ticket items in hospital care and doctor visits are among the reasons why. <\/p>\n
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Health care reform will help millions more Americans get insurance. <\/p>\n
But experts say the Affordable Care Act itself won't stop the cost of health care from continuing to rise and consumers from paying bigger bills. <\/p>\n
Insurance premiums -- the monthly fees consumers pay to get coverage -- continue to rise much faster than the 2% rate of overall inflation. In 2011, average premiums rose 8% for individual coverage and 9% for family coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. <\/p>\n
There are many reasons costs are going up; some apply to all patients, and others only to patients who get insurance through big insurance plans. But experts identify six main drivers. <\/p>\n
Hospital care: Hospital care accounts for nearly one-third of the nation's annual health care expenditures. <\/p>\n
According to the American Hospital Association, factors driving up hospital costs include the rising cost of goods and services used for patient care -- such as workers, equipment and information systems. Other factors are rising demand for care and compliance with regulatory requirements. <\/p>\n
An increasingly significant issue for hospitals is the increase in patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid -- 60% of all admissions. Neither program fully reimburses the cost of hospital care, the hospital association said. <\/p>\n
Hospitals are also seeing a jump in the cost of care for patients who can't pay, which averages about 6% of hospital expenses. Hospitals assume those costs as part of their legal duties to provide \"charity care.\" <\/p>\n
Doctor visits: According to the American Medical Association, the cost of physician care, both to insurance and patients, has risen 1.3% during the past year. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
See the original post: <\/p>\n
6 reasons health care costs keep going up<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are many reasons health costs keep going up. Bigger ticket items in hospital care and doctor visits are among the reasons why. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Health care reform will help millions more Americans get insurance Continue reading