'The Business of Health Care Report'

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I’m Doug Hawthorne, CEO of Texas Health Resources, with “The Business of Health Care Report.”

According to a recent study published by the journal Health Affairs, the combination of federal, state and local government expenditures for health care will equal almost 50 percent of total health spending by the year 2020. Health Affairs is a nonprofit journal of health policy thought and research.

The study says that in 2014, overall national health spending will grow by 8.3 percent when major expansions of health insurance coverage kick in as required by the Affordable Care Act. The expanded coverage is expected to reduce the number of uninsured by nearly 30 million people.

What does this mean for businesses and consumers?

The Health Affairs study projects that as the government-sponsored share of health spending increases, the share paid by private businesses and households will shrink to a smaller portion of the nation’s health bill. According to the study, the projected share for private business would decline from 20 percent in 2014 to 18 percent in 2020. The share paid by households is projected to decrease from 28 percent in 2013 to 26 percent in 2020.

Texas Health believes an informed public is a consistent key to controlling health costs and making access to care available to all.

For our faith-based family of hospitals — Texas Health Presbyterian, Texas Health Harris Methodist and Texas Health Arlington Memorial — I’m Doug Hawthorne.