Billing, clerical errors cost Illinois' Cook County hospitals $165M

Stroger Hospital Cook County

John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital in Chicago, flagship hospital of the Cook County Health & Hospitals System

The report from Illinois' Cook County inspector general pinned much of the blame on the system’s bureaucracy, citing “a significant number of registration clerks, coders and billers who do not possess adequate self-motivation or the required skill sets and knowledge base” to do the jobs they’ve been assigned.

U.S. health spending began soaring in 1980

Until 1980, the U.S. was similar to other countries in per capita spending and life expectancy. Princeton University sociology professor Paul Starr, PhD, said high inflation and sluggish economic growth in the late 1970s hurt countries’ abilities to afford healthcare. The difference was “other countries have been able to put limits on healthcare prices and spending” while the U.S. relied on market forces.