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Children's health insurance coverage rates decline.

Article Excerpt
Health care spending in the United States continues to have a major impact on the national economy. In 2005, our nation spent $2 trillion on health care, representing 16 percent of the Gross National Product. This translates into a $6,500 per person on health care. At the same time, health insurance premiums rose 7.7 percent and drug prices increased 15 percent. Figure 1 (page 24) shows increases in premiums in the United States from 1990 to 2005 compared to the workers' earnings and overall inflation. Even with this level of spending, 18 percent of Americans under age 65 do not have any health insurance. The share of U.S. firms offering health benefits fell from 69 percent in 2000 to 60 percent in 2005. The lack of federal level reform has lead many states to enact changes to control the level of spending. Some states such as Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and New York have undertaken sweeping reforms at a systemic level, while others are working on a more incremental approach. Montana has made several such incremental changes to address the rate of uninsured in the state.

Health Care in Montana

The 22 percent uninsured rate in Montana for people under 65 is higher than the national rate. When those over 65 are added, the rate drops to 19 percent primarily due to the addition of the Medicare population. In Montana, we spent about $5 billion on healthcare in 2005, which represents 17 percent of the Gross StateProduct. Of that $5 billion, 28 percent represents state spending on the public health insurance programs Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Plan. Spending on prescription drugs was slightly below $460 million.

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BBER Research Findings

In 2003,...

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