Commonwealth Fund Report Suggestions
The healthcare spending in the United States has skyrocketed in the last few years. According to Maddox, Bauchner, and Fontanarosa (2019), the US spent a whopping $3.5 trillion on health, something that translated to 18% of the gross domestic product (GDP). The report from the Commonwealth Fund suggests several ways that could be used to address the unprecedented increase in healthcare costs. First, the report recommends the move towards a value-based healthcare system to ensure that the money spent reflects the outcome. Gentry & Badrinath (2017) assert that a value-based system entails the use of limited resources in a manner that guarantees the most value to the patients. As such, the report suggests that provider payment reforms should be enhanced to promote value for the patients. The Commonwealth Fund reports also call for system-wide approaches that integrate all the players in the healthcare market. Efforts should also be placed to reduce the administrative costs that result from unnecessary bureaucracy within the healthcare industry. The Commonwealth Fund also favors the bundled payment model of payment as opposed to the traditional pay per service. Shih, Chen, & Nallamothu (2015) assert that the fee-for-service model of payment has significantly contributed to the rising cost of healthcare in the country. The bundled payment method is essential because it focuses on the total costs and the overall patient outcome.
What I Think
I think the recommendations are effective because they target certain reforms that will guarantee change. More importantly, they focus on some of the integral issues that have often contributed to the high cost of healthcare in the US. Examples include the administrative costs, fee-for-fee payment models, and the use of defensive medicine, among others. By revolutionizing the payment model and removing unnecessary bureaucracies, the healthcare costs will reduce. The value-based system and patient-centered models of care will also reduce unnecessary expenditure.
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References
Gentry, S., & Badrinath, P. (2017). Defining health in the era of value-based care: lessons from England of relevance to other health systems. Cureus, 9(3).
Maddox, K. E. J., Bauchner, H., & Fontanarosa, P. B. (2019). US Health Policy—2020 and Beyond: Introducing a New JAMA Series. JAMA, 321(17), 1670-1672.
Shih, T., Chen, L. M., & Nallamothu, B. K. (2015). Will bundled payments change health care? Examining the evidence thus far in cardiovascular care. Circulation, 131(24), 2151-2158.
