About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

GAO-04-1000R 1 (2004-08-18)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptapqz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: SGAO Accountability * Integrity Reliability United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 August 18, 2004 The Honorable Paul Ryan House of Representatives Subject: Milwaukee Health Care Spending Compared to Other Metropolitan Areas: Geographic Variation in Spending for Enrollees in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Dear Mr. Ryan: Health care spending varies across the country due to differences in the use and price of health care services. Understanding the reasons for utilization and price variation may contribute to developing methods to control health care spending. This report provides preliminary results from our work on geographic variations in health care spending and prices. You asked us to examine geographic variations in health care spending and prices in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). FEHBP is the health insurance program administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for federal civilian employees and retirees, which covered 8.5 million people in 2001. FEHBP contracts with private insurers to provide health benefits. It is the largest private insurance program in the United States. This report summarizes preliminary information provided to you at an interim briefing on July 21, 2004. The enclosed briefing slides (see enc. I) highlight the results of our work comparing Milwaukee to other areas of the country. The objectives of the briefing were to (1) compare Milwaukee health care spending per enrollee, hospital inpatient prices, and physician prices with other metropolitan areas, and (2) examine factors identified by stakeholders in Milwaukee that may affect health care spending and prices. To estimate spending and prices in Milwaukee and other metropolitan areas, we analyzed 2001 claims data for enrollees under the age of 65 from the largest national insurers participating in FEHBP. We defined price as the payment by insurers and enrollees to a provider for a service. Spending was the sum of payments across all providers for each enrollee. We analyzed mean spending per enrollee, mean inpatient price, and mean physician price in Milwaukee and other metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) across the country. Out of a total of 331 MSAs, we included 239 MSAs in the spending per enrollee and inpatient price analyses and 319 in the physician price analysis. We also interviewed key stakeholders in Milwaukee to identify factors they thought affected health care spending and prices. Key stakeholders included representatives of health insurance companies, hospital networks, physician networks, and large employers. To determine if these factors could affect geographic GAO-04-1000R Milwaukee Health Care Spending

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most