Health care Fact of the Day

From the article Rising Labor Costs Accounted for 47 percent of Increased Personal Health Care Spending in 2015:

According to PPI estimates, rising labor costs accounted for almost $65 billion in added health care costs in 2015, or 47 percent of the total increase in personal health care spending (as reported by the latest projections from the actuaries at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid). By contrast, IMS reports that net spending on prescription drugs rose by only $24 billion in 2015, or 18 percent of the rise in personal health care spending.

This result, which updates our previously published data for 2014, fights the prevailing narrative that healthcare spending is primarily driven by rising drug prices.

​This, again, provides evidence for proper preventative health interventions. Diet and exercise for longevity being chief among them. Healthcare ought to be used for accidents and emergencies, not chronic disease and degeneration brought on by preventable causes requiring ever more nurses and healthcare personnel as we age.