In the United States, approximately 80 percent of healthcare costs are attributed to 20 percent of the population — the chronically ill, according to MedCity News.
Here are five points about the 80/20 rule.
1. Healthcare spending is projected to reach $4 trillion this year as reported in a 2012 study by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, according to MedCity News.
2. Advances in therapy and disease treatments are changing the way diseases like HIV are treated. Medications are very costly, and awareness campaigns may be a possible solution to limit the number of chronically ill patients.
3. In the United States, healthy lifestyle adoption is weak — the CDC estimates one in three Americans could have diabetes by 2050. Healthy food is more costly than its unhealthy alternatives with the average savings of eating of an unhealthy diet being $547 year.
4. The shift to value-based care could be the first step in combating the 80-20 rule. Providers are increasingly being reimbursed based on patient outcomes, leading to more effective care for patients.
5. Payers, providers and pharmaceutical companies should coordinate to address problems such as high therapy costs, medication adherence and obtaining payment authorization. For example, new medications are able to eliminate Hepatitis C but have a steep cost of $94,500. Therefore, many HCV infections are not treated and cooperation is needed to combat these high costs.
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