Romley John A, Hackbarth Andrew, Goldman Dana P
Rand Health Q. 2012 Sep 1;2(3):6. eCollection 2012 Fall.
Air pollution is harmful to human health, but little is known about the costs of pollution-related health care. If such care imposes a significant burden on insurance companies and employers, they would have substantial stakes in improving air quality. Reduced medical spending could also benefit public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. This study estimated the amount of medical spending by private health insurers and public purchasers, such as Medicare, that is related to air pollution. Specifically, the authors determined how much failing to meet air quality standards cost various purchasers of hospital care in California over 2005-2007. The results indicate that substantial reductions in hospital spending can be achieved through reductions in air pollution.
空气污染对人类健康有害，但人们对与污染相关的医疗保健成本知之甚少。如果此类医疗保健给保险公司和雇主带来巨大负担，那么他们在改善空气质量方面将有重大利害关系。减少医疗支出也可能使医疗保险和医疗补助等公共项目受益。本研究估计了私人健康保险公司和医疗保险等公共采购方与空气污染相关的医疗支出金额。具体而言，作者确定了2005年至2007年期间，加利福尼亚州未能达到空气质量标准给各类医院护理采购方造成了多少损失。结果表明，通过减少空气污染可大幅降低医院支出。
