Health affairs
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This study uses a nationally representative survey to identify the most expensive conditions in the United States and to examine the association between spending and disability. The most expensive conditions at a population level were ischemic heart disease and motor vehicle accidents; at the per capita level they were respiratory malignancies. There was not a significant association between rank order of treatment costs and disability; the conditions with the greatest disability relative to expenditures were mood disorders, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and arthropathies. We use the findings to discuss the role for cost-of-illness and burden-of-disease estimates in setting priorities.
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Despite a growing consensus that serious quality problems afflict U. S. health care, state and federal governments have done little to improve the quality of care. ⋯ We propose legislative requirements that any new expenditure of federal funds for health benefits be accompanied by public disclosure of performance information regarding quality, effectiveness, and safety. Such disclosure could yield diverse public and institutional benefits.