What Causes $1.2 Trillion Of Healthcare Waste?
We all know there’s plenty of waste in American health care, but does $1.2 trillion — more than half of annual spending — really go down the drain? Looks that way.
A new report from consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers identifies how the $1.2 trillion in annual waste breaks down. CNNMoney.com identifies six areas totaling nearly $500 billion that stand out as issues to be dealt with in the health care reform debate:
Too many tests — $210 billion a year wasted Inefficient claim processing — $210 billion Using the ER as a clinic — $14 billion Medical errors — $17 billion Discharged patients too soon — $25 billion Infections from hospital stays — $3 billion Other areas of waste mentioned in the report are “up to $493 billion related to risky behavior such as smoking, obesity and alcohol abuse, $21 billion in staffing turnover, $4 billion in prescriptions written on paper, and $1 billion in the over-prescribing of antibiotics.”
It’s easier to identify waste, of course, than to figure out how to eliminate it. Don’t worry, Washington will figure all that out.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com …
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