Analysts from Grand Valley State University presented data at the 2015 Health Check Forecast indicating increasing health care prices, a decreasing labor pool and greater expenses for women’s health treatment in West Michigan.

GVSU economics professors Sonia Dalmia, Kevin Callison, Paul Isely and Leslie Muller attended the event, offering research that explores the future of the health industry.

“My part of the Health Check Forecast was to look at the expenditures and pricing of healthcare services,” Callsion said. “What we found is that healthcare prices in West Michigan are trending upwards at a rate that is higher than we see in other areas.”

The Health Check Forecast is an annual event where researchers present their findings on the newest trends occurring in health-related fields. Research for this event was conducted in Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon and Allegan counties.

Callison said other areas studied for comparison reasons included Rochester, New York; Louisville, Kentucky; Buffalo, New York; Portland, Oregon and Akron, Ohio.

The issue of rising health care prices is not a new problem for West Michigan, Callsion added.

“This is the first time the Health Check Forecast has focused on expenditures and pricing, but I think this problem has been happening for a while,” Callison said. “The traditional way of thinking about West Michigan healthcare is that it’s a low cost/high quality area. What we can tell from the data is that the quality part is probably true. However, this idea that we are a low cost region is starting to change, and we need to reassess.”

There is no sure reason for why the prices in healthcare are going up, but Callison highlighted several possibilities.

“One possibility could be the changes in utilization patterns or technological advancement,” Callison said. “Five years ago, you would go to Detroit or Chicago to get an expensive treatment, but today we have more advanced hospitals in Grand Rapids.”

Another reason Callison mentioned is the decreasing amount of competing hospitals in the Grand Rapids area.

“I think there is also less competition,” Callison said. “There’s been a trend around the country toward consolidation which reduces competition.”

Ultimately, consolidation of different aspects of the health industry leads to the merging of hospitals, which, in turn, decreases the competition and raises healthcare prices.

Another possibility could be the shifting demographic in the area resulting in a greater concentration of older people than younger in West Michigan, Callison added.

Sonia Dalmia said this shifting demographic could cause bigger problems down the road.

“If this trend of shifting demographics continues, we are going to face the challenge of an increasing number of health problems, an increase of healthcare utilization and a limited labor pool,” Dalmia said.

Dalmia also said the cost for treating women’s health is also on the rise.

“Fifty-one percent of the population is female, and a majority of these women are in child bearing ages of 15 to 44,” Dalmia said. “Given that women are the primary caregivers for children and elderly parents, the cost of treating women’s health issues are magnified beyond the cost of treating them individually.”

West Michigan could save a total of $13.4 million each year if instances of pre-term and low birth weight babies were reduced by 20 percent, Dalmia said.

With this comprehensive look at healthcare’s rising costs, students and community members in the surrounding area may be affected when looking at health-related needs.

For a closer look at the data, go to
http://www.gvsu.edu/vphealth/.

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