OCR Text |
Show Medical Costs Rise Less "The average American is paying the same share of his paycheck for health care as he did 20 years ago." So stated "The Cost of Medical Care," a new illustrated booklet just published by the American Medical Association. According to Harold Bowman, executive secretary of the Utah State Medical Association, "actual medical costs have advanced over recent years less than almost any other product or service." ' What of the cost of medical care? Is it taking a "bigger bite" of today's consumer dollar and where does it go? The facts are that the average American is spending only 6 cents out of every dollar for health. He also spends 6 cents for recreation, recre-ation, 5 cents for tobacco and liquor, 10 cents for clothing, 12 cents for miscellaneous expense, 12 cents for travel, 22 cents for food and 27 cents for housing. Then most people would ask, "Yes, but aren't my health bills higher than they used to be?" In terms of inflated dollars, naturally, but a comparison of the percentage of increase in the prices of some things today with 20 years ago is astonishing! Domestic servants are up 297 per cent, men's haircuts up 218 per cent, shoes upl69 per cent, food up 151 percent, transportation trans-portation up 139 per cent, movies up 130 per cent, all medical costs up 108 per cent, clothing up 106 percent, and physicians' fees are up 90 per cent. - ' Hospitals, physicians and drugs take the bulk of the medical dollar today. Figures show that hospitals get more and physicians get less of the health dollar today than they did 20 years ago. Physicians received 30 cents 20 years ago, today they get 25 cents. Hospitals received 17 cents 20 years ago, today they get 26 cents. Drugs take 20 cents, dentists take 11 cents, health insurance insur-ance takes 7 cents, and health appliances take 6 cents. The booklet also points out that today there are more and better health services available. These services have lengthened lives, prevented pneumonia and other serious illnesss from taking such a heavy toll of lives, caused a much shorter stay in hospitals hence the cost of being sick and absent from work is often less. Today thousands leave hospitals well who would have died 20 years ago. |