Tennessee’s worst-case health care tab
Posted on September 30, 2009 at 2:36 pm
A new study commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation sketches just how the health care system could deteriorate over the next decade if income growth lags and the cost of care rises at a decent clip. Here are some teasers for the country as a whole.
• In 29 states, the number of those without insurance would grow by more than 30%
• Nationally, spending by American businesses for their workers’ health care would double.
In Tennessee, costs under the worst-case scenario would rise by two-thirds by 2019, faster than all but three of its neighboring states. Even in the study’s best possible outcome, uncompensated care in Tennessee will rise by 69 percent to almost $2.2 billion a year and business will have to shell out $6 billion more than they are this year. For more state numbers, go to page 56 of the report.
Just off the podium
Posted on July 1, 2009 at 9:31 am
New state-by-state rankings of obesity rates have been published today by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Tennessee ranked as the fourth-most obese state in the country behind Mississippi, Alabama and West Virginia.
And while the nation has long been bracing for a surge in Medicare as the boomers start turning 65, the new report makes clear that fat, not just age, will fuel much of those bills. In every state, the rate of obesity is higher among 55- to 64-year-olds – the oldest boomers – than among today’s 65-and-beyond.
As in previous years, Colorado is the only state with an obesity rate below 20 percent.
SEE ALSO: Our recent print-edition story on how human behavior will factor into health care reform efforts.
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We’ll be ready when the anthrax hits the fan
Posted on December 9, 2008 at 9:02 pmA new study says Tennessee is one of the states best prepared to handle diseases, disasters and bioterrorism.
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