We are grateful to Linda Lewandowski, Ph.D., dean of the Kirkhof College of Nursing, and Diana Lawson, Ph.D., dean of the Seidman College of Business, for their support, along with funding from Grand Valley State University. We also thank Jill Smalldon, director of communications and external relations, Kirkhof College of Nursing, and Katherine Moran, DNP, FADCES, FNAP, associate dean for nursing research, scholarship, and lifelong learning, Kirkhof College of Nursing for diligently proofreading the report. Thank you also to Jill for her support and coordination of this project and to Karen Ruedinger, assistant dean, Seidman College of Business for migrating the Health Check publication to a digital format with an updated graphical treatment.

The publication authors especially thank Priority Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and Blue Care Network for providing the average cost data. In particular, the following persons were invaluable for providing timely feedback and suggestions: Elizabeth Katt, senior business intelligence developer, Priority Health; Heath Taylor, data engineer, Priority Health; Frantisek Petruv, intern, Priority Health; Peter Hunsberger, senior director, Advanced Analytics, Priority Health; Karena Weikel, senior vice president, advanced analytics and chief actuary, Priority Health; Peter Albert, manager, HCV strategy, informatics, and program performance, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network; Dr. Androni Henry, senior medical director and associate chief medical officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan; Deborah Simms, senior health care analyst, HCV analytics and insights, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network; David O. Brown, director, provider relations West Michigan, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network; Pamela Sylvester, team leader II, provider relations West Michigan, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network; Shlynn Rhodes, administrative manager, performance and analytics, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan; and Cherie Ledbetter, health care manager, HCV business analytic services, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network.

We appreciate the assistance of the PDAG Consulting Data Products Team for promptly answering our questions about changes to this year’s Medicare Geographic Variation Public Use File. We also thank Yan Tian, Ph.D., M.S., from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, for providing the prevalence estimates of various behaviors and medical conditions from the Michigan Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (MiBRFSS). Additionally, we appreciate the help of Patricia Tate, an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections for providing us with the historical data on nationwide employment projections.

All the data used in this project are based on primary and secondary sources. We acknowledge our data sources in each section by listing source information; these sources are not duplicated or specifically cited in text discussions to preserve readability.

We are particularly indebted to the following organizations for use of their data:

American Hospital Association

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), based on CDC protocol and the Michigan BRFSS

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Michigan Department of Community Health

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Michigan Health and Hospital Association

Michigan Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives (milmi.org as part of michigan.gov)

U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (ARF file 2011-2012)

United States Patent and Trademark Office

World Intellectual Property Organization