Status of US Health Care

Health care in the United States has changed over the past several decades for those who receive, provide and pay for care. So, what is the status of U.S. health care today and the trends that emerged in the last 30 years? “The patient viewing health care in 2013 must envision a decade or more of uncertainty.” Dr. Hamilton Moses and colleagues analyzed these trends. “The rate of cost increase is not as great as many people have assumed. Care of those with chronic illness is the largest command on U.S. resources, our value is trailing other countries as reflected in life expectancy and the price of drugs, of hospitals, of physician fees have all increased particularly since 2001-2002.  The results appear as a special communication in a theme issue addressing critical issues in U.S. health care in the Journal of the American Medical Association.