Posted At Empire Information Services

BY : Peter Frost

Personal health-care spending in New York State rose 77% from 1990 to 2000 - from $53.50 billion to $94.76 billion, according to an analysis of data published earlier this year by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

This is the first update of state-by-state personal health-care expenditure data since 2000 when CMS - then known as the Health Care Financing Administration - released spending data through 1998.

According to the new data analyzed by the New York State Conference of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans, prescription drug spending grew 230% between 1990 and 2000, the steepest increase among all categories of personal health-care spending measured in New York State for this time period. As a percentage of spending on all categories, hospital services continue to have the largest share. Hospitals received 36% of total personal health-care expenditures in New York State in 2000.

The analysis is detailed in a series of personal spending fact sheets on the Conference's web site at http://www.nysblues.org/.

"It's important that New Yorkers understand how their health-care dollars are being spent," said Mark Amodeo, director of public policy and communications for the Conference. "Increases in spending are driven by two major factors: the increase in price of goods and services that health-care providers charge and the frequency with which New Yorkers consume the goods and services. These factors impact the cost of health insurance."

Personal health-care spending includes the bulk of expenditures on all forms of health care provided by hospitals, physicians, dentists, home care agencies and other professionals. It also includes spending on such products as prescription and non-prescription drugs. Sources of financing include government and private insurance as well as out-of-pocket costs from consumers. The CMS data on personal spending does not include administrative costs for running government and private health insurance, some government health-care programs, and research and construction spending for non-commercial biomedical research and health-care facilities.

Highlights of the CMS data for New York State from 1990 to 2000 show:

-- Personal spending on prescription drugs in the state rose from $2.97 billion to $9.83 billion, an increase of 230%. This was the steepest increase among all spending categories measured in New York State.

-- Spending on all hospital services rose 51% to $34.25 billion. While it has declined as a share of spending among all categories, hospital care continues to be the largest category of personal health spending.

-- Expenditures on physician and other professional services rose 82% to $21.7 billion.

-- Personal spending on nursing home care provided outside of hospitals rose 61% to $11.62 billion.

-- Spending on non-prescription drugs and other nondurable goods rose 20% to $1.88 billion.

-- Expenditures on home care services rose 68% to $4.80 billion.

-- Personal spending for dental care rose 62% to $4.04 billion.

-- Spending on vision products and other durable medical goods rose 65% to $1.4 billion.

-- At $94.76 billion, New York had the second highest total personal health-care spending in 2000 among the 50 states. California had the highest - $125.78 billion in personal health-care spending.

-- Personal health-care spending for the US rose 86.4% - from $609.39 billion to $1.136 trillion.

Distribution of 2000 total personal health-care spending in New York State is as follows: hospital care, 36.1%; physician and other professional services, 22.9%; nursing home care, 12.3%; prescription drugs, 10.4%; home care, 5.1%; non-prescription drugs and other nondurable goods, 2%; dental care, 4.3%; vision products and other durable medical goods, 1.5%; other personal health-care spending, 5.5%.

"Health-care spending both nationally and in New York continues to rise at an alarming rate, further increasing the cost of health insurance coverage," Amodeo said. "Controlling the rising cost of health care will directly ameliorate the affordability of coverage."