According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), national healthcare spending will increase in the coming years. Similarly, expenditure on health care programs including Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program will grow faster compared to the economy. This growth is associated with a number of interacting factors. This essay reviews the cost, access and quality of healthcare in the U.S.
Factors Contributing to the Rising Cost of Health Care
The rising cost of healthcare product and services contribute to the rising cost of healthcare. Besides, with medical practitioners incorporating technology in their operations, patients spend more on their medication. For instance, retrieving their medical history from the internet and different medical portals requires money. Similarly, when hospitals, physicians and other providers merge to attain greater market power compared to insurers, patients increase their expenditure on health care (Smith, Newhouse & Freeland, 2009). Nonetheless, demographic and patient characteristics are contributing factors to the rising health care costs. This is because aging baby boomers are spending more on health care because of chronic ailments like cancer and high blood pressure that are associated with old age.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
When Rising Health Care Costs Became an Issue
The rising health care costs became an issue when patient visits to doctors declined because consumers started fearing the big bills that they had to offset compared to their illness. Apparently, health care consumers developed a phobia for higher deductibles and out of network fees (James & Savitz, 2011). Nonetheless, health care systems have become very complex requiring every patient to undertake a number of tests and procedures, therefore increasing the cost of care.
Why Health Care Costs are Continuing to Rise
Health care costs are continuing to rise because of an increase in health care spending associated with increased services like inpatient hospital care especially among old people. Furthermore, James& Savitz (2011) assert that constant treatments of chronic ailments have escalated the rate of expenditure on healthcare .Such diseases include diabetes, low back and neck pain, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels , depression, urinary diseases, osteoarthritis , blood stream infections and oral diseases. According to JAMA statistics, ambulance costs from outpatients’ services and emergency room care contributed to increased costs since it rose from $381.5 billion to $706.4 billion. Moreover, the rising health insurance premiums cause the continuing rise in health care costs because of government programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which increase the demand for medical services causing higher prices (Smith, Newhouse & Freeland,2009). Besides, changes in lifestyle contribute to development of diabetes and heart diseases that represent 87% of all health care costs.
What Can Be Done To Address This Issue
To curb the issue of the ever-increasing costs on health care, insurers and physicians should provide patients with more information regarding where they can access the same services at a cheaper price. For instance, it is possible that treatment of the heart disease at one point can be 700% more costly than the same treatment in another area. Besides, physicians can minimize the number of medical tests they conduct on patients as some are of no benefit and failure to conduct them is unharmful to patients. Similarly, doctors can convince patients that it is not compulsory for them to undergo tests.
The Impact That Cost is having on Access to Care
The high costs of medical care are making uninsured adults to delay or go without care. Research highlights the relationship between escalating patient cost burdens and utilization of health services. Apparently, when patients pay more for their health care, they are less likely to access treatment. Similarly, one out of four patients has skipped medical treatment or an appointment with a physician because of the overwhelming cost of medication (Smith, Newhouse & Freeland,2009).Additionally, 18 percent of patients have skipped their medicine dosage while others have not filled their prescriptions. Furthermore, most people in the U.S have pending medical debts to clear.
How does access to health care today compare to 10 years ago?
Access to health care is more expensive and higher compared to how it was 10 years ago. Twenty years ago, it cost $2800 averagely per person. Ten years later, it escalated to $4700 per person while four years ago, it hit $ 7520 per individual.
Medicaid
Providers can refuse care to people with Medicaid especially the numerous low-income health care consumers. This is because such patients depend entirely on the federal government paying for their Medicaid reimbursement fees and cannot afford the high costs of medication.
The Universal Health Care
Establishing a Medicare for all Americans is the right thing to do. Besides, it is time the national government considered health care a right of the people and not a commodity availed depending on wealth and income. Furthermore, statistics display that people living in richer counties tend to live 20 years longer than their counterparts do in the poorest counties (James & Savitz, 2011). In this case, in the wealthiest nation of the world, lower income and working class people should both live healthy lives and this is achievable through the universal health care program now and in the future.
Providing Quality Care
Providing quality care entails the consideration of proper care processes and the result of the care or patient outcomes. Nevertheless, physicians and patients should develop a relationship based on trust. In addition, all medical care practitioners must observe humanism in their activities. This encompasses upholding integrity, respect and compassion for their patients.
Cost in Determining Quality of Care
Cost will never be a determinant of quality health care. Apparently, some insurers cover some drugs more generously than others do. Additionally, some patients prefer using less covered brand name drugs to fully covered generic versions (Smith, Newhouse & Freeland, 2009). This is because patients look for treatment that they can easily afford and not the treatment cost.
The Future of Health Care In Terms of Quality
In marking 25 years of quality improvement, the Institute of Healthcare Improvements focused on the value of care, improvement, patient centered care and patient safety. This implies that the future of health care looks bright with regard to quality.
References
Smith, S., Newhouse, J. P., & Freeland, M. S. (2009). Income, insurance, and technology: why does health spending outpace economic growth ?. Health Affairs , 28(5), 1276-1284.
James, B. C., & Savitz, L. A. (2011). How Intermountain trimmed health care costs through robust quality improvement efforts. Health Affairs , 30 (6), 1185-1191.
