Alliance for Health Issues Major Resource, “Covering Health Issues”

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Amazing resource for health care and health care reform info over at Alliance for Health, “Covering Health Issues, 5th Edition, 2010 Update.” Made possible by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, it has 12 chapters and covers such issues as Health Reform, Cost of Health Care, Quality of Care, Mental Health & Substance Abuse, Long-Term Care, and Disparities. The collection is a veritable treasure trove of information presented in a readily accessible manner. Though the phrase is lacking because access is free, the Fast Facts alone are worth the price of admission. A few to think about (footnotes omitted):

• Two-thirds of people age 65 today will need some long-term care in their lifetimes.

• An estimated 22.3 million people were classified as substance dependent or substance abusers in 2007. Substances abused range from alcohol, pain relievers and tranquilizers to hallucinogens, cocaine and heroin.

• Each year, about one in four adults (26.2 percent) suffers from a diagnosable mental illness, according to National Institute of Mental Health.

• In a ranking of 19 industrialized countries, the U.S. had the highest number of unnecessary deaths.

• Among 37 nations, the U.S ranks 29th in terms of infant mortality with nearly twice as many infant deaths per capita than France.

• The United States spent $2.3 trillion on health care in 2008, or $7,681 per person. This amounted to 16.2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).

• Health care costs more than tripled from 1990 to 2008,² and are projected to rise to 19.3 percent of GDP in 2019.

• Nearly 82 percent of the uninsured in 2009 lived in families headed by workers.

• In 2008, 17.2 percent of full-time employees and 25.5 percent of part-time employees age 19-64 were uninsured all year.