One of the main objectives of the U.S. government is to provide its subjects with proper health care coverage. Although the U.S. is one of the leading developed nations, it is quite surprising to find out that it has one of the most impoverished healthcare systems globally (Amadeo, 2019). The health care services should be not only affordable, but also accessible to Americans. Statistically, it was established that the average cost of healthcare services had skyrocketed to about $19,393 for a family of four, which represents an increase of about 7.3% (Amadeo, 2019). Significantly, Health Care Reform aims at controlling such an unexpected rise in healthcare prices. In trying to understand how the government has been operating, recent changes in policies include the famous Health Care Reform, which is specifically designed to provide universal access to healthcare services for every American regardless of their background. Moreover, the changes are intended to regulate the rise in the cost of accessing healthcare, improve healthcare quality, and make the choices of healthcare services to be friendly to consumers and more comfortable to be understood. Furthermore, Health Care Reform should ensure that private insurance industries in the healthcare sector are properly controlled through activities like an online marketplace and state-based individual exchange programs. Logically, the healthcare industry is vast and dynamic, and as a result, its future, workforce challenges, the fate of long-term care, and anticipated frontiers in the clinical technology must be critically evaluated.
The Future of the Healthcare Reform: Bottomless Analysis and Investigation
As much as the healthcare system is expected to change from time to time, Health Care Reform should also change to meet the demands of the population perfectly. Broadly, several factors that are likely to be instrumental in the future should be considered thoroughly.
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The Future of the Health Care Reform
Health Care Reform should specifically address the concerns raised by the American population. This includes any obstacle against accessing medical services for citizens to have universal access to healthcare. It is clear that with a change in leadership, Obama care will experience a lot of changes. For instance, in his first term, President Donald Trump cleared all restrictions concerned with short term insurance plans (Coombs, 2018). Therefore, the new provision to be implemented as from the end of 2019 will allow insurers to offer a policy that can be renewed after 36 months (Coombs, 2018). The amendments are believed to be made to ensure the continuous payment of insurance, even if one shifts from one employer to another. It is important to note that insurers are not supposed to renew their plans. Indeed, this signifies that more changes should be expected. Arguably, projections indicate that several conditions in the healthcare system may either improve or get worse. For instance, the rate of prevalence of diabetes and cancer in the country is expected to record a positive deviation of 50% by the year 2023 (Amadeo, 2019).
On the other hand, diseases related to heart attack are expected to increase sharply by a whopping 40% by the same year (Amadeo, 2019). Moreover, lung disease and heart attack conditions are anticipated to increase by 30% as the occurrence of stroke is expected to increase by 25% (Amadeo, 2019). In terms of financial expenditures, if favorable and realistic policies will not control the conditions, the cost of treatment will be about $1.7 trillion per year, and this will be a heavy burden to the economy (Amadeo, 2019). To lower the annual cost of treatment, the nation should ensure that these diseases are controlled as soon as possible. To achieve this, Health Care Reform should continuously be made based on future expectations. Following the projections for 2023, the administration has to choose between making useful and timely health care reforms to face the financial burden. The policies should not only aim at making healthcare services available but also cheaper. The prevention of diseases should be a key pillar in future strategies. For instance, the reforms may come up with policies that compel every hospital to have a cancer diagnosis and mitigation center.
Moreover, citizens should be encouraged to periodically check their health conditions for conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart attack, and lung infections. Other issues to be covered by Health Care Reform include the establishment of a kitty to support patients who may contract the health complications. By ensuring that enough capital is available to assist the medication exercise, it is crystal clear that the accessibility of affordable healthcare services will be accessible to nearly every citizen. Since a good number of the expected medical complications are due to lifestyle, the reforms should also involve research and the creation of public awareness based on evidence. Individually, the expected increase in patients with diabetes may be regulated by educating people on the need for monitoring their eating habits and being physically active. Indeed, failure to reform the healthcare system may have adverse impacts in the near future, and this necessitates the need for it to be reviewed accordingly.
Future Workforce Challenges
As time goes by, several conditions in the healthcare industry may change. The transformation may either have a positive or negative impact on the field as Health Care Reform tries to provide universal access to healthcare for Americans, control the rising costs of healthcare, and regulate the private insurance industry. One key factor that has the potential of affecting service delivery is the high number of aging nurses, which is inevitable. Given that Health Care Reform aims at regulating the private insurance industry, more people will have insurance coverage. However, since majority of nurses are aging, there is a need to replace them before the condition gets out of hand in order to meet the rising demand for healthcare for the insured persons. Service providers, policymakers, and workforce planners must, therefore, come up with methods that can ensure that the gaps created are filled as soon as possible (Ryan et al., 2018). In case the condition is not tackled during earlier stages, it may be disastrous in the future. Specifically, the situation may result into increased workforce difficulties, and as a result, any measure that is currently being put in place to retain qualified nurses may be rendered useless (Ryan et al., 2018). The result of the situation will be the shortage of nurses; hence, poor healthcare services to the population. It is, thus, essential that efforts such as regular investigation of the age of nurses should be carried out to ensure that as soon as they are about to retire, a newer and qualified nurse is brought on board. However, the experience level that was initially possessed by the aged nurses cannot be replaced with ease, and this may still be a considerable challenge.
Furthermore, the internet has evolved to be at the center of every activity carried out by human beings. It is not a secret or a surprise to find that the internet controls the present world, and this ranges from the learning process to the application of knowledge in work stations. Shortly, it is expected that many people will rely on the internet for their medical needs, and this may be a blessing in disguise to the healthcare industry as paternalism will be affected adversely. Due to the impact of internet and technology, many nurses may be rendered jobless. Moreover, patients may use the empowerment negatively, and this may have adverse effects. In situations where the population relies on the internet for medical solutions, there is a higher probability that certain conditions may go unchecked. As a result, they may seek real medical intervention when the situation is at its worst, and nurses together with other service providers may have a challenging time to address the issue.
On the other hand, globalization is a critical concern in the present day world, and this may have negative impacts on the healthcare systems in the country. Due to improved transport and communication networks, together with government policies on immigration, the population is expected to be more diverse in future. As of 2017, more than 44.7 million immigrants were living in different parts of America (Zong, Batalova, & Burrows, 2019). The trend is expected to increase, and, thus, associated challenges may also increase. With such a condition, the workforce in the health sector may experience problems in handling the needs of clients. Specifically, cultural competence is required; that is, service providers may find it necessary to have a deeper understanding of the cultural background, values, practices, and beliefs of their patients.
Failure to do so may have negative consequences in the whole process, and this may lower the quality of service delivery. Issues such as language barriers may prevent service providers from working comfortably and competently to deliver cheaper and quality healthcare services to societal members. In attempts aimed to control the condition, service providers may be required to undertake classes to learn different languages and cultural practices. However, this may be a massive uphill to be climbed by nurses. An increased number of immigrants also imply that the number of patients to be served will grow in direct proportion. As such, the government must be compelled to work with speed to hire more service providers, which is costly to taxpayers. Finally, uncontrolled increase in several expected patients may cause burn out due to the small number of service providers and eventually, the quality of healthcare services offered may decline sharply. Stress may also be experienced in the existing medical facilities if they are not expanded.
The Future of the Long-Term Care
As far as human beings will still need healthcare services in future, the role of long-term care insurance will always be significant. As at 2018, more than 7.2 million Americans had long-term insurance cover policies, which are instrumental in covering unexpected medical conditions such as the cost of nursing homes and any other financial requirement not included in Medicare (Stark, 2018). The policy is beneficial when people attain the age of 65 and are unable to take good care of themselves. Even though other conditions are fully covered with Medicare, long-term care is partially covered. For any person to benefit from Medicare policy as far as long-term care needs are concerned, they must establish that indeed there is a need for a rehabilitative care or skilled professional services.
Even though the patient may justify the need for the services, they may only be covered for about one hundred days in nursing homes. The condition, therefore, implies that the future of long-term care is still complicated. However, the citizens have confidence that they will get the much-required services in future if need arises and is adequately justified. Importantly, since an increased number of people may have access to insurance programs and policies, many people are likely to benefit. However, one may be required to look for long-term care as a single policy since it is not provided in the Medicare plan. It is also important to note that since the Health Care Reform Act aims at ensuring that there is no malpractice in the insurance industry, the policy is expected to be more beneficial in future. Moreover, the number of people with such an insurance policy is also expected to increase accordingly as time goes by.
Quite some assistance programs are available to help people pay their insurance costs. Medicare, premium tax credits, and decreased cost sharing are some of the programs in place following the Affordable Care Act (Davis, 2018). The provisions assist qualified individuals with a relatively lower income level to pay for costs such as coinsurance, deductibles, and copays as well as monthly premiums (Davis, 2018). Eligibility of the beneficiaries for the aid is based on their status, which is gauged by the federal poverty level (Davis, 2018). Once an individual has been found to meet all the requirements for the aid, they are either supposed to pay for the cost in part or not at all. The provision has been instrumental in ensuring that everyone can access quality medical services.
New Frontiers in Clinical Technology
Various organizations are playing a leading role in ensuring the advancement of clinical technology in the U.S, which are in line with the goals of Health Care Reform to provide universal access to healthcare for Americans and control the rising costs of healthcare. Telemedicine, m-health, and telehealth are some of the leading frontiers in advocating for clinical technology (Kakkar, Sarma, & Medhi, 2018). M-health relies on what is widely referred to as e-health, which is both a public and medical health practice aided by smartphones, cellular phones, and other digital communication devices to promote quality healthcare in the country (Kakkar, Sarma, & Medhi, 2018). Indeed, the use of these gadgets has been successful and impactful to the population. People can get affordable and improved medical care by merely pressing the mobile buttons.
Telemedicine is yet another frontier in the promotion of clinical health in the U.S. The feature has continuously been transforming medical practices as far as the application of communication technology is concerned in managing diseases, providing chronic care, remote medical imaging, and the prevention of disease occurrences (Krupinski & Weinstein, 2014). Telemedicine has experienced exponential growth in its applications. Subsequently, it allows patients to access the required medical services reliably and affordably regardless of their locations. Moreover, technology plays a crucial role in the formulation of efficient and dependable health care plan in the country.
Telehealth is a technology that provides Americans in different parts of the globe with medical services. Services offered by this technology include but not limited to telemedicine, health, and medical education. By the use of this service, Americans can receive the same quality of healthcare that they would expect while at home even if they are miles away. It is important to note that these frontiers serve to ensure that citizens are well covered with regards to the provision of health care services. As a result, Americans are assured that their health condition is usually in safe hands and can be looked at an affordable cost.
Conclusion
Health care is a universal need, and the American government has been playing a leading role in ensuring that its citizens have access to quality healthcare services at an affordable cost. In line with this objective, health care reform has widely been considered. Due to the dynamic nature of the needs of the population, health care reform is expected to take a new look in the future. With an anticipated increase in the rate of prevalence of several health complications like cancer and diabetes, the reform should strive to come up with measures that can fight the diseases appropriately. It has also been observed that the cost of providing health care will rise in the future, which implies that the reforms should identify possible means of solving the situation before it worsens. Continuous immigration into the country, a high number of aging nurses and overdependence on the internet are some of the factors that should be considered keenly since they can affect the future workforce. For instance, aging nurses may leave a gap that cannot be replaced with ease. Measures taken by the government include the Obamacare, which promotes citizens to be insured. However, Medicare partially covers the long-term cure, and as a result, people may be affected, hence, compelling them to take the policy alone. In the U.S., the main frontiers for clinical technology include Telemedicine, m-health, and telehealth, which ensure that the citizens are assured of affordable and quality healthcare at any given place and time.
References
Amadeo, K. (2019). Why reform healthcare? Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/why-reform-health-care-3305749.
Coombs, B. (2018). Trump administration clears the way for cheap short-term health plans to compete with Obamacare. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/01/trump-clears-way-for-health-plans-to-compete-with-obamacare.html.
Davis, E. (2018). How to Get Help Paying for Health Insurance. Retrieved from https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-to-get-help-paying-for-health-insurance-1738500.
Kakkar, A. K., Sarma, P., & Medhi, B. (2018). M-health technologies in clinical trials: Opportunities and challenges. Indian journal of pharmacology , 50 (3), 105.
Krupinski, E., & Weinstein, R. (2014, June). Telemedicine, telehealth, and m-health: new frontiers in medical practice. In Healthcare (Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 250-252). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.
Ryan, C., Bergin, M., White, M., & Wells, J. S. G. (2018). Aging in the nursing workforce–a global challenge in an Irish context. International nursing review .
Stark, E. (2018). 5 Things You Should Know About Long-Term Care Insurance. Retrieved from https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/financial-legal/info-2018/long-term-care-insurance-fd.html.
Zong, J., Batalova, J. & Burrows, M. (2019). Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states.
