Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:Introduction to Health Care and Public Health in the U.S.
Unit:Financing Health Care - Part 1
Lecture:Payors in the U.S. Health Care System
Slide content:Health Insurance Spreads risk over a large pool of people 5% of people account for about 50% of spending Cost influenced by: Prescription costs Technology Aging population Chronic conditions Government subsidies Administrative costs 6
Slide notes:Health insurance spreads the financial risk for health care expenditures for a group of people by pooling money or premiums paid on their behalf into a larger fund. A payor uses the pool of money to pay or reimburse for health care services provided to the individual members of the group. In a given year, approximately five percent of the people enrolled in a health insurance plan consume about half of all the money available in the pool. Health plans stay solvent in most cases because each year all of its members contribute more money than they use. The cost of health insurance is influenced most by prescription costs, technology, an aging population, the prevalence of chronic conditions, government subsidies, and health plan administrative costs. 6