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5%of patients account for half of health care spending01/12/2012USA Today By Kennedy, Just 1% of Americans accounted for 22% ofhealth care costs in 2009, according to a federal report released Wednesday.That's about $90,000 per person, accordingto the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. U.S.residents spent $1.26 trillion that year on health care.Five percent accounted for 50% of healthcare costs, about $36,000 each, the report said. STORY: Insurancerolls gain 2.5M young adultsThereport's findings can be used to predict which consumers are most likelyto drive up health care costs and determine the best ways to save money,said Cohen, the report's lead author.While the report showed how a tiny segmentof the population can drive health care spending, the findings includedgood news. In 1996, the top 1% of the population accounted for 28% of healthcare spending. " The actual concentration has dropped, " Cohen said. " That's a big change. " About one in five health care consumersremained in the top 1% of spenders for at least two consecutive years,the report showed. They tended to be white, non-Hispanic women in poorhealth; the elderly; and users of publicly funded health care.The report also showed these characteristicsof patients in the top 10% of health care spenders in 2008 and 2009:•Sixty percent were women•Forty percent were 65 or older.•Only 3% were ages 18 to 29.•Eighty percent were white.•Only 2% were Asian.The study also found that Hispanics, 16%of the population in 2009, spent less on health care. Twenty-five percentof Hispanics were in the bottom half of health care spenders, the reportshowed, while only 7% of Hispanics were in the top 10% of spenders.Next, Cohen plans to look at whether cost-cuttingmeasures make a difference. Beginning in October 2012, the government hastold hospitals with Medicare patients that it will no longer pay for patientswho are readmitted to hospitals for the same condition soon after beingreleased. Cohen said he'll look at whether that will change the spendingaverages for people in the top health care cost brackets.http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-01-11/health-care-costs-11/52505562/1HCSC Company DisclaimerThe information contained in this communication is confidential, private,proprietary, or otherwise privileged and is intended only for the use ofthe addressee. Unauthorized use, disclosure, distribution or copyingisstrictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received thiscommunication in error, please notify the sender immediately at (312)653-6000 in Illinois; (800)835-8699 in New Mexico; (918)560-3500 inOklahoma; or (972)766-6900 in Texas.