To Get More Bang For Your Health-Care Buck, Invest In Innovation

In the current issue of Health Affairs, David Wamble and colleagues published a new study - What’s Been The Bang For The Buck? Cost-Effectiveness Of Health Care Spending Across Selected Conditions In The US. In it, they examined disease-level cost-effectiveness ratios, analyzing changes over time in medical intervention spending and the associated changes in health outcomes of patients with seven different diagnoses. Over the period 1996 to 2015, they found that changes in treatment for patients with lung cancer, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and HIV/AIDS resulted in both cost savings (reduced spending per person) and improved health. Results were more mixed for the other diseases examined. Outcomes improved but costs rose for patients with breast cancer and diabetes. Outcomes and costs both worsened for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.