The role of consumers - as patients, employees and insurance beneficiaries - is becoming increasingly important in the debate over health care quality, access and costs.  As patients, we are part of the team that determines what type and level of treatment we need, want and can afford.  As employees, we see the impact of rising costs on our health benefit plans both in the breadth of coverage and out-of-pocket costs.   As insurance beneficiaries, we share responsibility for helping to manage rising costs through improved personal health and more cost-effective treatment choices.

The following resources provide information on health care delivery and costs to help ensure that as consumers, we are informed participants in health care policy discussions. 

Links:

• The Long-Term Outlook for Health Care Spending, Congressional Budget Office, November, 2008.
• Bending the Curve:  Options for Achieving Savings and Improving Value in U.S. Health Spending, The Commonwealth Fund, December 2007.
• Prescription Drug Trends Fact Sheet - May 2007 Update, Kaiser Family Foundation
• The Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit - An Updated Fact Sheet
• Achieving a High-Performing Health Care System with Universal Access: What the United States Can Learn from Other Countries. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2008:148.
• The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• The Commonwealth Foundation
• The Kaiser Family Foundation
• The Centers for Disease Control