Blue Cross And Blue Shield Association Releases 2007 Medical Cost Reference Guide

New edition is searchable online, features healthcare trends

March 7, 2007

CHICAGO - The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) today announced the release of the 2007 Medical Cost Reference Guide (MCRG).  Now in its fifth publication, the guide is one of the most comprehensive collections of data available from government, academic, and business sources, as well as from BCBSA. 

The guide is searchable online and you can order your own copy of MCRG by filling out the form.

Covering topics such as health spending, utilization, chronic disease and obesity, as well as trends in hospitals and among physicians, consumers, and the uninsured, the 2007 MCRG provides a valuable resource for researchers, policymakers, and the media.

New data trends in this year's guide include:

• Healthcare expenditures in the U.S. represent a greater percentage of Gross Domestic Product than in any other country.  At 2.2 trillion, or 16.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product, the 2006 U.S. National Health Expenditures dwarf other major sectors of the economy - and they are projected to represent as much as 20 percent of Gross Domestic Product by 2015.
• The government - primarily through public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid - continues to be the largest payer for healthcare, bearing almost half of the total costs.  Private health insurance accounts for a little more than one-third of the total.
• The majority of the U.S. population, 68.6 percent, is covered by private health insurance.  Of the U.S. population, 59.5 percent are covered by employer-based private insurance and 9.1 percent are covered by direct-purchase private insurance.
• The U.S. healthcare system continues its transformation to focus more on the wants and needs of consumers and consumers are responding.  For example, eight in ten Internet users go online for health information.  More than half of consumers who use the Internet have utilized features from their health insurer's online Web site.

"One of the major aims of our 2007 Medical Cost Reference Guide is to encourage more effective use of the vast amount of information in our healthcare system," said Scott P. Serota, president and CEO, BCBSA.  "The guide serves as an important source of knowledge that can drive effective solutions and help us attain a system that is driven by better knowledge."

BCBSA will host a Web conference on March 22 at 2:30 p.m. EDT to review highlights, online capabilities, and other attributions of the new MCRG.  For information about the Web conference, contact Matt Levin at 312.297.5917 or matt.levin@bcbsa.com.