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AHRQ: 5% Of Patients Account For Half Of Healthcare Spending
Just 1% of Americans accounted for 22% of healthcare costs in 2009, according to a federal report released this week. That's about $90,000 per person, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). US residents spent $1.26 trillion that year on healthcare; 5% accounted for 50% of healthcare costs, about $36,000 each, the report said.
The report's findings can be used to predict which consumers are most likely to drive up healthcare costs and determine the best ways to save money, said Steven Cohen, the report's lead author.
While the report showed how a tiny segment of the population can drive healthcare spending, the findings included good news. In 1996, the top 1% of the population accounted for 28% of healthcare spending.
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/7wp9frh
Sources: Kaiser Health News; USA Today
Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
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FDA Greenlights Dupilumab for Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria, Marking First Approval in a Decade
April 18th 2025Marking the first approval in over a decade for this challenging condition, the FDA has approved dupilumab (Dupixent) to treat chronic spontaneous urticaria in patients 12 years and older whose hives and itching remain uncontrolled by antihistamines.
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