Age and income are the two most important factors influencing healthcare usage. This suggests a large and growing market for discretionary medical products and services. Levels of healthcare service usage differ significantly by region. John Wennberg, MD, and his colleagues at Dartmouth Medical School have studied and reported on these differences. For example, the elderly living in Miami or New York are more likely to spend their last days in an intensive care unit than those living on the West Coast.
Life expectancy continues to increase.
Access to information affects the demand for health services. Less well educated, lower-income individuals will continue to rely on traditional sources of information. The authors are hopeful that health access differences based on race and ethnicity will disappear, but they are less confident this will happen without a payment mechanism for the uninsured.