Consciousness-Based Education - Maharishi University of ...

Health Care Cost Crisis and transcendental Meditation programhigh-cost case phenomenon and the potential application of the TranscendentalMeditation program as an effective intervention for thissegment of the population. We also summarize the pertinent researchstudies concerning the impact of the Transcendental Meditation programon health. Next we present a cost-benefit analysis of potentialhealth care savings through the Transcendental Meditation program,using the Washington, D.C. Medicaid program as an example. Weconclude with suggestions for future research aimed at improving thehealth care cost crisis in the U.S.The International Health Care Cost CrisisMedical Expenditure Escalation in the U.S.The U.S. has the highest absolute medical expenditures and highest percapita medical expenditures of any nation. The U.S. also has the fastestgrowing percentage of GNP devoted to the health sector (Schieber,Poullier, & Greenwald, 1992). The rate of medical expenditure growthhas accelerated in the last two decades. Jencks and Schieber (1991)elaborate: “Since 1970, U.S. health care expenditures have grown atan annual rate of 11.6 percent, 2.9 percentage points faster than ourgross national product (GNP)” (p. 1). According to the Health CareFinancing Administration, the U.S. spent approximately 13% of itsGNP on medical care in 1991 and 13.5% in 1992. These expenditurescould rise to 18%–20% of GNP by the year 2000. Figure 1 shows theextraordinary growth of American medical expenditures from 1929 tothe present. Reinhardt (1990) predicted that if the health sector’s shareof GNP continued increasing at the present rate, in 82 years medicalexpenses would consume the entire GNP. Although such a predictioncould never come true, the current trend indicates the urgency of thehigh medical expenditure situation in the United States.This problem increased in severity during the early 1980’s, whenmedical expenditures began growing approximately twice as fast as theConsumer Price Index (CPI). Numerous reasons exist for the fastergrowth of prices for medical services. Jencks and Schieber (1991) identifysome of these as follows:353