It seems even in a healthy part of the country like Provo, Utah there is a continuing trend to spend more money on healthcare. Provo has been used as a model by President Obama but spending on Medicare patients has accelerated rapidly. There are also many other reasons mentioned in this Washington Post article that could be the causing the increase:
- Increase in the number of tests and procedures being performed
- Doctors owning their own testing machines (GI docs owning CT scanners, oncologists own radiation machines, etc)
- More diagnostic machines in the area
- New surgical suites in the area
- Increase in the number of patients being seen
- More aggressive treatment earlier on in disease stages
- Treatments being performed more frequently
No one seems to have an answer and everyone is puzzled by the fact that we are a country that is getting older, likes new technology and the combination of the two costs more and more.
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