When looking up resources about healthcare, it’s typically wise to search a variety of sources, in order to get the best and most updated data. With that said, there’s now a resource available that compiles information from some of the biggest and most authoritative healthcare websites, and lists all relevant data in a giant index.
The U.S. News and World Report Healthcare Index is a one-stop shop for all of your healthcare needs. The index tracks movements of healthcare expenditures, employment, insurance coverage and education in the United States, while making international comparisons. It also measures the dollar amounts American employees paid in health insurance premiums for every year since 2000, and details how many Americans have health insurance and which coverages are the most common.
Where is Data Collected?
The index is calculated annually and includes specific health measures that are published on an annual basis. It also has statistical data that shows significant trends within the healthcare industry. To create the index, U.S. News relies on data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Department of Health and Human Services, the World Health Organization and the National Center for Educational Statistics.
The aim of the index was summed up by chief data strategist for U.S. News Bob Morse when he said the index “Gives us the broadest measure of healthcare’s impact on U.S. Society.”
How is the Information Compiled?
Using 2000 as a base year, the index measures the yearly changes in the activity surrounding various aspects of healthcare, creating sub-indices that are given a certain percentage weight in the final index, which helps tell the whole story. The sub-categories include:
- Expenditures – Representing 44% of the overall healthcare index, this sub-index portrays how much money overall is being spent on all healthcare related activities in the United States.
- Employment – Measures the proportion of healthcare jobs in the country by dividing the total number of healthcare jobs by the total number of all jobs. Its weight is 16% of the overall index.
- Insurance – With a weight of 9%, this measurement plays a major part in understanding the scope of healthcare in the U.S. because it looks at how many Americans receive some form of health coverage.
- Education – Worth 8% of the overall index, this section measures the proportion of healthcare degrees by dividing the total number of them by the total number of all degrees.
- Health insurance premiums – Also valued at 8%, this measurement looks at the individual expenses of employers and employees paying premiums to private companies that offer health insurance.
- Consumer price index – This section looks specifically at the cost of prescription drugs, physician, dental and eye-care services, as well as hospital and nursing home costs. This measurement is also valued at 8%.
- Insurance deductibles – Accounting for just 4% of the index, this measurement looks at the number of people enrolled in high deductible healthcare plans.
- Economic impact – The smallest piece of the overall index with a weight of just 3%, this examines how the United States measures up to the healthcare spending of other nations by using healthcare expenditures as a percentage of gross domestic product.
Changes to the weights and how the index is calculated may occur in the coming years to factor in the Affordable Care Act and how it has affected healthcare as a whole.
