Healthcare Spending Essay

Having access to quality healthcare is major part of one’s life however the cost of care has been on the rise over the past decades and continue to rise every day due to many situation such

For the last five years of my life I have worked in the healthcare industry. One of the biggest issues plaguing our nation today has been the ever rising cost of health care. If we don't get costs under control, we risk losing the entire system, as well as potentially crippling our economy. For the sake of our future, we must find a way to lower the cost of health care in this nation.

The documentary “Money and Medicine,” reveals the essentials of unnecessary health care spending and the policies that intervene with the health care systems. In the beginning of the film, the people being interviewed talked about patients receiving major amounts of unnecessary treatment and that a majority of health care spending is devoted to needless services. Several physicians in the video explained the extreme dangers that are present within health care; along with clarifying that they are paid more when doing harm to their patients and when they do more for them even if it is not beneficial to do so. If the cost of health care continues to rise, health care will become too expensive and unavailable that the U.S. will be put in a financial

There are many problems with healthcare in America today. One of them including the astronomical cost. According to CDC.ORG in 2007 the average person spends seven thousand four hundred dollars per year on health care alone. This rise in healthcare is extremely detrimental for families, seniors, and people of all ages. With such a high cost of insurance people are forced to make hard choices in

In healthcare system the highest quality medical care means” the greatest benefit to patients at the lowest possible cost” (Burke & Ryan, 2014, p. 3). “The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) defines quality health care as doing the right thing for the right patient, at the right time, in the right way to achieve the best possible results” (NCQA, p. 3) According to American college of physicians, the single most reason for the health care cost is higher healthcare spending. There are several factors involved in the high health care cost such as inappropriate use of technologies, lack of patient centered care, overuse of the reimbursement, excessive price for health care facilities, increased organizational cost, and health accountability are some of the reasons for increased health care cost. In order to decrease the cost, the available health resources be used judiciously and equitably. Understanding these factors and identifying the potential factors of health care costs assists in providing quality and effective services and thus improves the health outcomes (ACP, 2009).

When the cost of health care exceeds the level of quality and limits access to care, the option that exists to bring the two into balance would be in my opinion the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA was enacted on March 23, 2010. THE ACA was designed to address the rising costs within the health care setting and to also make delivery of medical

Health care debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States (Factcheck.org). Our privatized system has failed the chronically ill population of our country. The political climate that we currently have for these issues is not addressing these issues at an appropriate pace. Health care in the United States is the most expensive in the world, and health care inflation is increasing the fastest in the world (Reid 9). As of 2005, the United States health expenditure as a percentage of GDP is fifteen point three percent (Reid 9). We currently have a system where health care costs are increasing faster than wages, and this has been going on since at least 2000 (Starr, 161). We lead the world in health care spending, and this is a hemorrhage that needs more than a bandage. Some of the other problems we face in this country are access to care, quality of care, and efficiency of care. In this paper, I will dive in to the reasons why we have these problems, and I will analyze both sides of the argument of reform. The two major political parties in the United States have very different types of solutions for these issues. I will dissect each of these approaches, and explain what works about each sides approach, and what does not work about each sides argument. I will also discuss the current US social programs that work, and explain how they work. We need congress and the president to act in cooperation to solve these issues. Our convoluted

Though difficult, there are multiple ways to help and lighten the weight federal spending is used on healthcare. First off is to increase the savings in the current healthcare law. This could be done through reduced Medicare payments to health providers and insurers, cutting cost if savings don’t materialize.24 We can incentivize both employers and employees to choose cost-effective health plans. This is down by capping the tax exclusion of employer-provided health benefits.25 We could also increase the retirement age. This is down by gradually raising it first to 67 from 65, and further increasing it as needed.26 A out worldly idea is to pay the patients rather than the physician.27 Patients would use the insurance to receive a fixed cost based on the medical condition they have and will be able to use it in a medical provider under any terms and conditions the patient wants.27 This will allow the patient to have a freedom of choosing where they want to get medical service and would minimize spending since it is a fixed amount.

Also, by focusing too much on cost reduction, the root causes of this national problem have been neglected. The modern era has revolutionized the U.S. healthcare, but it

One of the issues that is widely discussed and debated concerning the United States economy is the healthcare system. Unlike in the majority of developed and developing countries, the healthcare system in the United States is not public, meaning that the state does not provide free or cheap healthcare services. This paper addresses many of the factors contributing to the rising cost of healthcare.

There are many reasons to question the goodness of Obama’s proposed health care bill. However, by looking at the bill closed-minded, the true potential is never seen. Of course continuing with the current United States health care system is always an option, but without reforming the system, expecting to see higher costs is inevitable. One thing that Americans need to strive for is making health care more affordable, which is the key to making the United States health care system sustainable once again (Mango & Riefberg). Currently, The United States health care system is the world’s largest, but it is also the most expensive.

This paper utilizes five established sources to examine and analyze the effects unstable and constantly changing healthcare costs have on the American economy. These sources all express different components of healthcare spending that play a major role in the economy. By utilizing Federal Health insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, these sources provide an inside look on ways in which these programs affect the economy. Cheeseman (2008) expands on how healthcare costs affect businesses and Johnson of The Associated Press describes how it affects the economy as a whole applying numerous factors such as components that make up the healthcare spending, how they hinder the progression of other aspects of economy by limiting government spending to healthcare, and their immediate effect on workers and businesses. Though healthcare is beneficial to some, Light (2016) reveals the darker effects it carries on the economy. Cohn (2014) provides a catalog of problems economists face when the facts concerning health care costs are concerned and outlines a series of statistics that display yearly growth rates in healthcare costs, and actual and projected growth in healthcare spending. Auerbach and Kellerman (2011) present findings on how increasing healthcare costs impacts the American family when available income and buying power is concerned while providing data and statistics to complement discoveries and build a solid case on how the bad outweighs the good. This

Healthcare reform will take time, effort, and money; but whose money? The United States is already overspending on healthcare. As of December 2015, 17.5% of our nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) was health expenditure. ("Historical - Centers for Medicare

Steven Brill feels that American health care is eating away at our economy and our treasury and discusses the costs associated with the provision of health care services in the U.S.. The article explores the medical world through the medical expenses incurred by a 64-year-old Janice S., Sean Recchi, A 42-year-old from Lancaster, Ohio and several other egregiously billed patients. The article poses the question: why exactly are the medical bills so high; in particular hospital bills?

US health care expenditures have been rising quickly over the past few years; it has risen more than the national financial system. Nonetheless a number of citizens in the US still lack appropriate health care. If the truth be told, health care expenditures are going to continue to increase; in addition numerous individuals will possibly have to make difficult choices pertaining to their health care. Our health system has grave problems that require reform, through reforming, there is optimism that there will be an increase in affordable health care and high-quality of care for America. Medicaid, Medicare and private sector insurances are all going through trials and tribulations because of