Bending the Cost Curve
A Message from America’s Hospitals
Would it surprise you to
in engaging patients, familearn that hospital cost
lies, and communities in
and price growth are at their
their health and health care.
lowest levels in a decade?
Dramatic improvements
That‘s a key reason why
in quality and safety are
growth in spending on
occurring in virtually every
health care services for
American hospital. Hospitals
Medicare, Medicaid, and prihave reduced one kind of
vate insurance fell sharply in
bloodstream infection by
Rich Umbdenstock
2012. In fact, Medicare
40 percent in adults and
President and CEO
spending growth per bene58 percent in infants, and
ficiary is at the historically American Hospital Association are lowering the percentage
low level of 0.4 percent—
of readmission rates, earlywell below the 3.4 percent growth in
elective deliveries, and complications in
our economy.
newborns. Of course, improving quality
But 10,000 baby boomers turn 65
of care is an unending challenge, and
every day, and more than half have mulwe're striving to provide our patients
tiple chronic conditions. Finding ways
with the best possible outcomes.
to deliver care more efficiently to this
population is a priority for all of us.
Dramatic improvements in quality
Hospitals have been spearheading
and safety are occurring in virtually
efforts to transform health care for more
every American hospital.
than a decade. We're collaborating to
keep people healthy in the first place,
make hospital care more efficient, and
Working together, we can achieve a
reduce health problems after discharge.
sustainable level of health care spendHospitals, physicians, and post-acute
ing by better managing advanced illcare facilities are sharing information
ness, engaging individuals in their
and implementing best practices to
health care, and using limited health
achieve the best transitions, outcomes,
care dollars wisely. Further ratcheting
and value for patients.
down Medicare and Medicaid payments for hospital care won’t ensure a
healthier tomorrow.
Hospitals are transforming
Peter Drucker wrote that large
health care.
health care institutions may be the
“most complex organizations in human
Hospitals and their clinicians are
history”—and that was in 1993. The
increasing teamwork, making huge
complexity has grown exponentially
investments in health information
since. Yet America’s hospitals are not
technology, and improving data colleconly succeeding in this challenging
tion and use—leading to better value
environment; they are bending the cost
care. They are also making major strides
curve downward.
America’s Hospitals:
Working to Lower Health Care Costs
To read more, go to: www.AHA.org
PAID FOR BY THE AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION