According to a national 2007 study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC), Americans are increasingly seeking information from a variety of sources other than their doctors. Approximately 56% of all American adults reported seeking information about a personal health concern during the previous 12 months, up significantly from 38 percent in 2001. Elderly Americans (65+) are less likely to seek information from other sources than other age groups, especially on the Internet. In 2007, 18% of the population 65+ sought information from the Internet versus 36% for the 18-49 age group. However, information seeking (Internet) by seniors has sharply increased from 7% in 2001 to 18% in 2007. The growth rate (150%) is higher than any other age group. A reason for this may be the people from the 50-64 age group moving to the 65+, and this is possible because of the 6-year lag between the 2 surveys. The survey also confirmed that women are more prone to look for information for elderly parents than men; most likely because they frequently act as caregivers.

It’s interesting to see that this seems to be a trend with Facebook as well. According to a study by the web site Inside Facebook, the number of users in the 55-65 age bracket is still small compared to the younger audience…

… but is the fastest growing age group – and here the period is 4 months and not 6 years as in the HSC survey. This short period basically rules out the migration of people from the 45-54 age bracket to the 55-65 as an explanation and indicates that seniors are more and more interested in the Internet.

But take this with a grain of salt because the Facebook audience by age is based on birth dates that people inform in their facebook profiles, which may or may not be reliable. Another factor here is that the 120-day period includes Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Years so the growth may be inflated due to the younger generation creating profiles for their grandparents.

• Temporary increase in the federal share of Medicaid cost: $87 billion (57% of the health spending)
• Temporary COBRA subsidies: $25 billion (17%)
• Health Information Technology (HIT): $19 billion (13%)
• National Institutes of Health: $10 billion (7%)

MEDICAID
Why?
According to KFF: “A 1 percentage point increase in unemployment is expected to result in 1 million more Medicaid and CHIP enrollees and an additional 1.1 million uninsured which puts upward pressure on state spending, while state revenues are projected to fall by 3 to 4%.”
What?
Financing for Medicaid is shared by states and the federal government.  The federal share varies from 50% to 76% and the $87 bi will be used to increase this share.  All states will receive at least 6.2% points increase over the original share.  On top of that, the federal share can be increased based on increases in the state unemployment rate.

COBRA
Why?
 Before this bill, workers had to pay about 102% of the premium.
What?
For those terminated involuntarily in the last 4 months of 2008, the federal government will pay 65% of the premium for up to 9 months.

HIT
Why?
“CBO estimates that the HIT investments would generate $12 billion in savings as a result of improved quality, care coordination and reductions in medical errors and duplicative care.”
What?
About $17 billion in fiscal incentives will be used to encourage providers to use electronic medical records and strengthen protection of health information.  Funding will be available to providers that attend a large number of Medicaid beneficiaries and will be phased-down (funding) over time.