Healthcare reform is needed this year because of increasing healthcare costs, decreasing access to care and worsening gaps in coverage, according to a government report released on Monday by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

According to the report, the United States spent about $2.2 trillion on health care in 2007 or about $7,421 per person.  As a percentage of GDP, it is almost twice what other developed countries spend. After doubling from 1996 to 2006, health care costs are projected to rise to 25% of GDP in 2025 and 49% in 2082. In 2007 and 2008, about 87 million people were uninsured on at least a temporary basis. And the United States achieved an overall score of 65 out of a possible 100 when rated across 37 performance indicators of quality of care.

The White House and Congress have signaled that healthcare reform should be accomplished this year. But several controversial issues that have doomed previous efforts at healthcare reform will need to be addressed. One issue is how to provide coverage to the uninsured. Should the government setup a federal health insurance plan and use its size and clout to drive down costs and compete with private insurance companies? Should the government mandate that everyone – healthy or sick -- get health insurance coverage? Insurance companies have indicated support for a government mandate for coverage as a core requirement for attaining universal healthcare coverage. Their argument is that universal coverage is only feasible if the insurance risk is spread across the entire population.

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_{Photo: daniel.baker, Flickr, Creative Commons}