MDH Health Reform Update: New Reports on Health Care Cost Trends

From the Minnesota Department of Health...

Two new reports from the Health Economics Program at the Minnesota Department of Health present the latest trends in private health insurance premiums and drivers of cost (for 2008) and total health care spending for all Minnesota residents (for 2007). Both reports show a moderating of trends compared to the recent past. At the same time, these reports underscore that over the long term, spending and premium growth remain unsustainable. A third report presents 2007 estimates of the distribution of insurance coverage in Minnesota; it presents a largely unchanged picture.

Key findings about total health care spending (private and public) for Minnesota residents in 2007 include the following:

• In 2007 Minnesota residents spent an estimated $32.5 billion on health care. This is about $6,266 per person, up from $5,966 in 2006.
• Compared to the nation overall, Minnesota spends a smaller but increasing share of its economy on health care (12.9 percent versus 15.3 percent), but the share is increasing in both Minnesota and the nation as a whole.
• In both Minnesota and the U.S. overall, public spending in 2007 grew at a faster rate than private spending, and overall growth was slower than in 2006.
  

As required by the 2008 health reform law, MDH published its first set of official health care spending projections in June 2009. In June 2010, MDH will publish a comparison of actual and projected spending for 2008, along with updated projections.

Links to these three new reports can be found on the Health Economics Program Web site.

For questions, please contact Stefan Gildemeister at (651) 201-3554, or by e-mail at stefan.gildemeister@state.mn.us.

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