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Health care costs in the united states essay
State of the American healthcare system
Future challenges facing health care in the United States
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The United Stated health care system faces growing challenges. With the population increasing and the population aging more people will need healthcare. A person’s health status is influenced by several societal factors such as social conditions and economic status. Social determinants are shaped by the amount and type of resources a person may have, money, and the ability of a person to influence others (CDC, 2014). There are several challenges that people in the United States face. When hospitals, community representatives, and primary care providers collaborate, care can be improved and the cost of healthcare can be reduced. There are several society issues that are faced daily. One issue is the cost of healthcare. The cost of healthcare continue to increase. “The total U.S. healthcare spending reached $2.7 trillion in 2011, representing a 3.9% increase from 2010 (Harkness & DeMarco, 2016, p. 50). Keeping the cost of healthcare at an affordable price is important so that all populations can benefit. Vulnerable populations such as those living in poverty and seniors the increasing cost of healthcare means having less money and forces some to make difficult choices about balancing food and other needed care. “From the patients’ perspective, patients usually are more interested in their own costs and …show more content…
These readmissions increase much of the cost in the healthcare system. Most of the readmissions have hard to treat complex chronic medical conditions. Eventually these chronic condition's worsen leading to longer and more expensive hospital stays. A National Center that will help improve care for high-need patients who experience poor outcomes despite extreme patterns of hospitalizations or emergency care is currently way (Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, 2016). The Camden Center has been able to identify high need patients and have been able to improve
There is limited data on predictors of discharge and readmission for hospital inpatients. According to Rothman, Rothman, & (), “Unplanned hospital admissions are a major quality and cost issue in the US healthcare system”. About 20% of Medicare patients are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, at an estimated cost of $17 billion per year (). Now that Medicare has begun to reduce payment to hospitals with high readmission rates, hospitals are looking for more effective ways of reducing readmissions. In order to develop new systems to address these concerns, there must be evidence in place to support to their use.
Overall, the increase within health care costs is effecting our nation significantly. Not only does it affect consumers but also organization. As it continues to increase everyone is finding themselves unable to pay for such changes. Reducing such growth within the health care costs requires a collaborative, inclusive, and dual-party approach. Strategies for reducing the costs include but not limited to: promoting prevention and healthy living, improving patient safety, and promoting transparency on medical costs and quality. If the nation works on such improvements, hopefully we will be able to turn the health care system into something we can all afford once again.
Despite the established health care facilities in the United States, most citizens do not have access to proper medical care. We must appreciate from the very onset that a healthy and strong nation must have a proper health care system. Such a health system should be available and affordable to all. The cost of health services is high. In fact, the ...
The U.S. expends far more on healthcare than any other country in the world, yet we get fewer benefits, less than ideal health outcomes, and a lot of dissatisfaction manifested by unequal access, the significant numbers of uninsured and underinsured Americans, uneven quality, and unconstrained wastes. The financing of healthcare is also complicated, as there is no single payer system and payment schemes vary across payors and providers.
According to healthypeople.gov, a person’s ability to access health services has a profound effect on every aspect of his or her health, almost 1 in 4 Americans do not have a primary care provider or a health center where they can receive regular medical services. Approximately 1 in 5 A...
Readmissions has become a spotlight in the healthcare world. “The problem of readmissions to the hospital is receiving increased attention as a potential way to address problems in quality of care, cost of care and care transitions. Interventions are underway to reduce hospital readmissions at the state and national level” (Elixhauser & Steiner, 2010). “Approximately 20% of Medicare beneficiaries are readmitted within 30 days of discharge and these readmissions have been estimated to cost the American public > $15 billion per year. The Patient Protection Affordable Care Ace of 2010 has created new incentives to reduce admissions using the publicly reported measures because hospitals with high readmission rates can lose
There are many best practices that are currently in use throughout the country to reduce readmissions to hospitals. However, the best evidence for my proposal is based on guidelines from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) which focus and initiatives are to reduce excessive readmissions and encourage health care providers to implement interventions to improve the health of their patients while decreasing costs (Adeoye & Pineo, 2014). CMS uses the Interact 4, SBARs and Care Paths to help nurses communicate change in status of residents to physician, or Nurse Practitioner (NP). The Interact is a great strategy for preventing readmissions of skilled nursing centers residents (Toles, 2012), and if used efficiently can substantially prevent avoidable readmissions, and improve quality of care.
Pincus, T., Esther, R., DeWalt, D.A., & Callahan, L.F., (1998) Social conditions and self-management are more powerful determinants of health than access to care. Ann Intern Med. 1998 Sep 1;129(5):406-11.
Reducing Hospital Readmission Rough Draft Hospital Readmissions Are Costly To the Patient and the Nation Hospital readmissions are costly and expose patients to hospital acquired infections, prolonging the length of stay and decreasing the quality of life. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) 2014 report highlighted that as of 2011, the major causes of a 30 day hospital readmission are attributed to congestive heart failure, septicemia and pneumonia. Furthermore, the cost of readmission is estimated to be about $41.3 billion, an extravagant amount necessitating immediate attention. What it is not: There is no quick fix to reduce hospital readmission rate because of the complexity of the conditions for which patients are readmitted and the lack of knowledge about the patient’s environment where patients are discharged to. Reducing readmission rates requires commitment and the desire to improve population health.
The major issue of the healthcare system in the United States is the escalating cost of care. Healthcare Administrators should be involved in the process of reducing the cost. Many factors contribute to make the healthcare inaccessible for some people in the United States among those, there are the lack of insurance, the distance between rural and urban areas, the non-compliance with laws that guarantee the care for any patient visiting the emergency room regardless his financial and social status. For my organization, the best way to contain costs in maintaining the quality of care is to promote the preventative care for employees.
Give your opinion of the rising cost of health care’s overall impact on the U.S. economy. Justify response. The rising cost of health care has a significant impact on the overall U.S. economy.
In my opinion, everyone deserves and requires medical attention throughout their lifespan whether as a newborn, young adult, adult, elder/poor and persons with disabilities. Being able to access affordable health care is considered as a basic necessity for majority of U.S. citizens. With that said, many individuals simply cannot afford health care services whether it maybe to pay for their medication, doctor’s visit due to their low income. So hence why, individuals depend on government agencies to provide medical assistance, one way or another, for example, medical insurance. With that said, government enacted a piece of legislation which is formerly known as the Affordable Care Act or the Obama Care Act, to provide medical coverage to all citizens living in the United States.
Rising healthcare costs have become a central problem for individuals around the world, specifically residents of the United States, which has caused employers to shift a greater portion of insurance premium costs to their employees. According to an annual poll of employers referenced by the Wall Street Journal, annual insurance premiums rose three percent during the year 2017 which outpaced inflation. A portion of these healthcare costs can be attributed to inefficiencies in the market due to a lack of risk measurement for workers. Presently, the National Association of Heath Underwriters has found that lifestyle choices are accountable for as much as seventy percent of health care spending. Employees who make unhealthy lifestyle choices which include obesity, smoking and excess alcohol consumption require more medical care and are therefore costlier to employers.
While at this time reimbursement for patient readmissions is only penalized by Medicare/Medicaid Government Health Programs. Commercial medical insurance companies frequently follow the government’s steps to cut costs and increase their own profitability. Implementing plans to reduce readmissions by patient education, use of community resources, and collaboration with other healthcare providers will reduce patient readmissions and put hospitals on a positive pathway for better outcomes for the
Social Impact of Cost of medicines One of the main reasons why the price of medicine should be lowered is that it’s putting many people at risk for dangerous diseases and illnesses. Cancer patients who are in poverty won’t be able to pay for their medicine unless they have insurance. However, if they do have insurance, often the cancer patient is forced to wait until the last stage of cancer to receive treatment. Waiting until the last stage of cancer for insurance is very inefficient as there's a reduced chance of survival due to the spread and growth of the tumor.