Questão 1779628

Texto para as questões de 73 a 75

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Health care reform will

help millions more Americans get insurance. But

experts say the Affordable Care Act itself won't

stop the cost of health care from continuing to rise

5 and consumers from paying bigger bills.

Insurance premiums -- the monthly fees

consumers pay to get coverage -- continue to rise

much faster than the 2% rate of overall inflation. In

2011, average premiums rose 8% for individual

10 coverage and 9% for family coverage, according to

the Kaiser Family Foundation.

There are many reasons costs are going up;

some apply to all patients, and others only to

patients who get insurance through big insurance

15 plans.

Hospital care accounts for nearly one-third of

the nation's annual health care expenditures.

According to the American Hospital

Association, factors driving up hospital costs

20 include the rising cost of goods and services used

for patient care -- such as workers, equipment and

information systems. Other factors are rising

demand for care and compliance with regulatory

requirements.

25 An increasingly significant issue for hospitals is

the increase in patients covered by Medicare and

Medicaid -- 60% of all admissions. Neither

program fully reimburses the cost of hospital care,

the hospital association said.

30 Hospitals are also seeing a jump in the cost of

care for patients who can't pay, which averages

about 6% of hospital expenses. Hospitals assume

those costs as part of their legal duties to provide

"charity care."

35 According to the American Medical Association,

the cost of physician care, both to insurance and

patients, has risen 1.3% during the past year.

Cnn.com, 12 July, 2012. Adaptado.

Conforme o texto, entre os fatores responsáveis pela elevação dos custos com saúde, nos hospitais norte-americanos, inclui-se