What factors have led to increasing health care costs?
Healthcare is increasingly getting expensive. These high costs can be attributed to technological advancement. The medical technology is costly, therefore transferring the expenses to healthcare. As people strive to seek more lifesaving procedures for their illnesses, they spend more money. Additionally, medical professionals tend to practice in competitive areas. They prefer working for higher pays so as it can compensate for the investment in their education. It increases the cost for patients seeking service in those institutions. Subsequently, the need for medical research increases the cost of healthcare. The current price is usually raised to fund medical research for the future. It is also important to note that chronic diseases have increased leading to 85 percent of the healthcare costs (Amadeo, 2019). These illnesses include heart disease and diabetes, which are expensive to treat. Most of the patients are on Medicare, which puts an expense on the government because it has to save their lives. Much money is spent as the patients have to undergo numerous procedures during their treatment.
What factors have led to increasing health care costs?
To reduce the cost of healthcare in the United States, the government needs to develop strategic measurements. Affordable healthcare can be achieved by centering on preventative care through increasing the number of primary care physicians, general specialists, and family physicians (Dalen, 2010). These primary caregivers can help prevent uncalled-for hospitalization and unwarranted testing for patients. Emphasis on nutrition, exercise, and other precautionary actions should be encouraged in order to avoid some lifestyle diseases from occurring. Another way to cut healthcare costs would be to abolish unnecessary procedures and testing. The practitioners should be advised to use cost-effective medicine in the treatments. It is observed that the costs of treating a Medicare patient in some areas double the price due to the exploitation of unwanted procedures. Expensive treatment does not guarantee the patient, good health in return. Another method is for the government to control the prices of prescription drugs. It will allow the patients to attend to their medical conditions as they can afford the medicines, especially those that require life-long medication.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
What factors contribute to poverty in the United States?
Poor family structure can be blamed for poverty in the United States. The family size and structure can contribute to poverty levels; for instance, increasing single-parent families lead to high poverty levels (Azih, 2017). Additionally, families headed by a woman are likely to be poor. This is because of the limited opportunities for women to earn income. Consequently, unmarried and divorced mothers highly face labor market discrimination. Additionally, the structure of welfare programs is patriarchal hence hindering the economic development of women. Lack of education is another contributor to poverty. It is because one requires some minimum academic attainments to qualify for specific jobs. Therefore the uneducated will be denied an opportunity for decent employment. This leads to high rates of unemployment. Overdependence on welfare programs hinders people from working. They are less motivated to seek employment and may turn to crime as a source of livelihood. Additionally, with the increasing standards of living in America, economic inequality contributes to poverty. It affects the distribution of income, leaving some members of the society struggling to make a living.
Are existing welfare policies effective in combating poverty?
Welfare programs exist to help the unemployed, vulnerable, and low-income earners meet their daily basic needs. Welfare policies may not necessarily contribute to fighting poverty due to the beneficiaries over-depending on the government for the provision of fundamental requirements. Poverty decreases gradually when a country embraces social welfare programs. For instance, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 by Bill Clinton was geared to reduce welfare dependency and increase employment. Additionally, it focused on reducing child poverty and illegitimacy in marriage. Therefore policies such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families are established to help the vulnerable for a specific period (Chappell, 2012). The current welfare programs are not able to fully assist the poor by giving in-kind benefits such as Medicaid, housing assistance, and food stamps. The beneficiary needs these benefits but may also require cash for their priorities.
What policy reforms would you recommend?
The reforms that would aid poverty reduction in the United States is focusing on building skills. The government should ensure the population is facilitated to access maximum education and expertise. It enables then to favorably gain on the competitive wages, as payments increase with the level of skills on possesses (Kearney, 2014). Subsequently, there should be a divergence of opportunities for all, including the highly skilled, semi-skilled, and the low skilled. Because not everyone can fit in formal employment, vocational training ought to be facilitated for the disadvantaged grownups. It will increase their chances of employment, thus reducing poverty.
References
Amadeo, K. (2019). The rising cost of health care by year and its causes. The Balance .
Azih, C. (2017). Analysis of Factors Contributing to Poverty in the United States. Retrieved from https://www.methodist.edu/sites/default/files/ctools/mr2017_chioma.pdf
Chappell, M. (2012). The war on welfare: Family, poverty, and politics in modern America . University of Pennsylvania Press.
Dalen, J. (2010). We Can Reduce US Health Care Costs. Retrieved from https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(09)01115-2/fulltext
Kearney, M., & Harris, B. (Eds.). (2014). Policies to address poverty in America . Brookings Institution Press.
