Unmet health needs costly

[Rose Siding]

Some patients in the Sacramento region are twice as likely as others to be hospitalized for preventable health problems that should have been treated in a doctor's office, a new study shows........
Researchers have long known that these and other socioeconomic factors can limit access to health care. The study is the most recent snapshot of local communities with the greatest unmet medical needs.
...
Three clinic visits to treat many common chronic health problems and illnesses that can lead to hospitalization will cost about $760, according to CHW analysis.

A hospital admission after a severe asthma attack - one type of preventable hospitalization - would cost about $5,567. For an ear infection hospitalization, also preventable with clinic care, the price tag would be about $4,200. Hospital stays for pneumonia and bronchitis, often avoidable if doctors catch and treat the symptoms early, run about $7,270.

"I think hospitals have tried clinics because it makes business sense," said Amerish Bera, an assistant dean of admissions at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine and former head of primary care clinics for Sacramento County.

http://www.sacbee.com/content/business/story/12538078p-13393397c.html

[Patiod]

1. and in other news on the "Duh" channel.....

but any sort of universal health coverage doesn't make "good economic sense".


Whatever happened to that bill in Wash.State that would tax large employers who don't offer health insurance? Makes good solid Republican "ownership"/"responsibility" sense to me. Meanwhile, if I use the hospital, my employer and I are paying for those employers who don't offer health insurance. Where's the "ownership" and "responsibility" there?