By John Pritchard
October 2024 – The Journal of Healthcare Contracting
I’ve been publishing the Journal of Healthcare Contracting for over 20 years. I have never written a publisher’s letter that got anywhere near politics; in fact, I don’t think we have ever written about Republicans or Democrats, or even named a president. But on the cusp of the 2024 presidential election, I am compelled to talk about politics as it relates to healthcare.
The U.S. healthcare system is so important to our nation and society, let me share a few statistics with you:
1. GDP: The U.S. spent approximately $4.5 trillion on healthcare in 2022, representing about 18% of our nation’s GDP. This makes the U.S. the highest healthcare spender in the world per capita.
2. Uninsured Population: In 2022, about 27.5 million Americans (or 8.3% of the population) were without health insurance coverage.
3. Chronic Disease Impact: Six in ten U.S. adults have a chronic disease, and four in ten adults have two or more chronic conditions.
4. Healthcare Workforce: Over 22 million people are employed in the healthcare sector, making it one of the largest employers in the country.
5. Aging Population: By 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be aged 65 or older, significantly increasing the demand for healthcare services.
Everyone in our industry knows how important healthcare is to our society and families. But sadly, our nation’s population as a whole does not.
Healthcare is nowhere to be seen as a top issue for choosing our next president. I read many articles researching this publisher’s letter, asking Google repeatedly what the top issues voters were evaluating for who to pick in the 2024 presidential election. There was very little consensus as to what the top issues were, but healthcare was very low in these lists. Here is my best attempt at listing the top issues and where healthcare falls from an assembly of sources.
In many of these lists, articles and polls, healthcare moves up a couple spots if abortion is included as part of the subject. Yet surprisingly, addressing the untenable increase in spending, costs and demand for access to affordable care is hardly addressed by Americans or our candidates.
This gives me great concern. By the next issue, we will all know who the next president will be. Hopefully the incoming president’s administration will work to address our pressing needs in healthcare.
Thanks for reading this issue of The Journal of Healthcare Contracting.