Inequities across the US health system limit underserved people’s access to affordable, high-quality care, create avoidable costs and financial waste that span society, and impact every individual’s potential to achieve health and well-being. To understand how far-reaching this issue is, Deloitte’s actuarial team developed a model to quantify the link between health care spending and health care disparities related to race, socioeconomic status, and sex/gender. The team analyzed several high-cost diseases (e.g., diabetes, asthma, and cardiovascular disease), determined the proportion of spending that could be attributed to health inequities today, and trended the spending to 2040—while accounting for changes in population and per capita spending.
Our actuaries concluded that health inequities account for approximately $320 billion in annual health care spending signaling an unsustainable crisis for the industry. If unaddressed, this figure could grow to US$1 trillion or more by 2040. If the United States reaches this threshold, we could see a direct impact on affordability, quality, and access to care beyond the challenges that already exist. The projected rise in health care spending could cost the average American at least $3,000 annually, up from today’s cost of $1,000 per year. And the increase in spending likely would have a greater impact on historically underserved populations. This avoidable expense (in dollars and lives) is the result of an inequitable health system and could have major consequences for the health and well-being of all individuals. No individual, family, or health system is equipped to sustain that kind of inefficiency and its implications. We can begin to address this by designing today for an equitable future. (author abstract)
#P4HEwebinarDecember2023