In the United States, health insurance has been a way to cover insured individuals medical cost. The coverage of insurance depends on the type of health insurance plan an individual has. Each insurance plan varies, and one of the coverages that insurance plans offer is prescription drugs. The cost of prescription drugs, depends on which health insurance plan you have. If an individual does not have health insurance, paying for a prescription drug will be an out-of-pocket cost and cost will vary for those who have health insurance. One of the issues that have been arising in the United States is Prescription drug usage. Many patients are abusing their prescription health insurance coverage and it is affecting their health come. Some of the prescriptions …show more content…
The United States spends more per capita on health care than any other country, with the percentage of gross domestic product dedicated to health care doubling from 9% in 1980 to 18% in 2011(Kesselheim,). One of the contributors to health care inflation is prescription drugs. Pharmaceuticals account for about 10% of total health care costs, spending on pharmaceuticals is poised to swell in upcoming years as a result of the increasing prices of complex specialty medicines (Kesselheim). Name brand drugs are going to have to be set at higher prices, in order for pharmaceutical companies to receive a profit. If the patient has full coverage on a medication, there is a greater chance that medication will be taken, although it may not be …show more content…
There are factors that contribute between patient health outcomes and drug insurance expansion. One of the studies conducted, was related to patients who were diagnosed with HIV. In the study of outcomes among patients with HIV, the observed improvements in health were a direct result of the life-saving antiretroviral therapy made available to patients through their prescription drug insurance. Clearly, by reducing financial strain on patients, prescription drug insurance helps insulate them from cost-related medication no adherence and helps advance their health outcomes
Third is performing reckonable accident errors that have been impaired on patients whereas the amount also was listed at $1.7 Million from 2008.Fourth the U.S. reckless spends about 100-200 billion a year in curing uninsured patients. Fifth, the most commonly talked about drug of all is tobacco, which amounts to about 96 billion. Healthcare not only does give patients the importance of everything but we also have technology along with so many life-enhancing benefits is ridiculously high and is way over the line. Which is why so many of our medical learners are not being trained enough to understand the importance of procuring and delivering prescription drugs that have cost about 1.3 billion dollars. The Question we should ask ourselves this how is it going to look when those are in need of a serious medical issue of having what’s required of them to take in order to ease their pain.
The United States (U.S.) has a health care system that is much different than any other health care system in the world (Nies & McEwen, 2015). It is frequently recognized as one with most recent technological inventions, but at the same time is often criticized for being overly expensive (Nies & McEwen, 2015). In 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) (U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.) This plan was implemented in an attempt to make preventative care more affordable and accessible for all uninsured Americans (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.). Under the law, the new Patient’s Bill of Rights gives consumers the power to be in charge of their health care choices. (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.).
Approximately 75 million uninsured and underinsured73 risk inability to access needed prescription medications.74 The risk is greatest for the chronically ill who require maintenance medication. Inability to acquire pharmaceuticals can result in a worsening of symptoms or failure to improve, which can cause preventable pain and premature death as well as economic consequences to the individual, his or her family, and society as a whole.
Prescription stimulant misuse can be defined as taking more of the medication than prescribed, or as taking the medication without a prescription. There have been many arguments on the reasons why there has been an increasing amount of college students who misuse prescription stimulants. Some psychologists argue that the misuse of prescription stimulants amongst college students is caused by stress brought upon by final exams and hard curriculum. However, other psychologists argue that the misuse of prescription stimulants is becoming more common amongst American college students for other reasons such as: differences amongst brain activity in college students, and misconceptions about the true risks of misusing prescription stimulants amongst
Prescription drug prices rose three times faster than inflation in the decade between 1981 and 1991, making the pharmaceutical industry the nation's most profitable business. Prescription drugs even exceeded the rapidly rising inflation rate for all other medical services. They now represent at least 10% of all the medical costs in the United States.1
Most drugs have allowed people to live longer and better lives, which is why we have become so dependent on them (Armstrong 51) However the rising costs of drugs are preventing a lot of Canadians from seeking the treatment that they need (CBC). In Canada, total government drug plans cover approximately forty-six per cent of total prescription drug costs (Armstrong 52). In 2013 Canada’s total drug expenditure reached to $34.5 billion or sixteen per cent out of our total health budget compared to $33.0 billion in 2012 (NHET 2). Since 1985, drug expenditure has increased from $160.01 per capita compared to $955.44 per capita in 2012 (CIHI 3). The breakdown of drug expenditure in Canada is as follows: prescription drug spending makes up to eighty-four per cent of total drug expenditure, while spending on non-prescription drugs reached to about $5.3 billion in 2012 (CI...
Per capita spending on prescription drugs in America is far greater than any other country. Kesselheim goes on to say that this is a natural result of America’s free market approach to healthcare resulting in monopolies. These healthcare monopolies are not held accountable for their high drug prices. The claims that these costs can be justified through research and development is rubbish, according to
Phillips, K. (2009, September 1). Catastrophic Drug Coverage in Canada (PRB 09-06E). Parliament of Canada . Retrieved March 12, 2012, from http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/prb0906-e.htm
The rise in cost of prescription drugs affects all sectors of the health care industry, including private insurers, public programs, and patients. Spending on prescription drugs continues to be an important health care concern, particularly in light of rising pharmaceutical costs and the aging population. Prescription drugs have grown to become an essential component of health care. For millions of Americans, prescription drugs are necessary to their health and ability to function in society. While prescriptions are a relatively small portion of overall health spending, they are a main reason for certain health spending trends, growing almost twice as fast all other health services in recent years. Prescription costs can be the costliest expense in your budget, especially if you are on a fixed income. The wealthy can easily afford their medications, but for an increasing population such as the elderly, choosing among purchasing medication, paying bills, or buying food is a real concern.
Even with health care coverage being at the tips of our finger, we still are positioned with the question how will I pay for this, as well as where this money comes from. Reports have indicated that the United States has spent “$2.2 trillion for health care in 2007, which was an increase of 6.7% from $2.1 trillion in 2006” (Wexler). This revenue comes to all of our taxable expenses, which in turn trickles down to the Affordable Care Act. Receiving any medical care, is expensive in general, from staffing of the hospitals to creating the medication that someone needs to further their lives. Wexler addresses the increase of medication production. ” One of the fastest-growing components of health care is the market for prescription drugs. In 2006 Americans spent $216.7 billion on prescription medication—this was an 8.5% increase from $199.7 billion in 2005” (Wexler) The increase can be a good way to think of how the money is spent. We fund the projects that in turn create fundamental medications to help those who need
There are three issues when it comes to the health care cost rising. The first is the rising cost in prescription drugs. The second area of rising cost is the increased technologies when it comes to the medical industry. The third problem is the aging population. Prescription drugs are the area of the fastest growing health care expense, and it is projected to grow at 20 to 30 percent each year over the next several years. There are many newer, more expensive drugs on the market, and the use of these prescriptions is exploding. In addition, with so much television advertising, many consumers ask their doctors for expensive, brand name drugs when there may actually be a generic drug that works just as well.
Toward the end of the 1990s, health care cost inflation began to decrease slowly after a steep increase in the early part of the decade. The patient population at that time hoped that various policies and programs implemented by government, employers, and insurers in the '90s that were put in place to control costs would continue to moderate the overall increases for the year to come. This was not the case and at this point in time rising health care costs have again become a major issue for patients seeking medical care. During the 2000’s the average annual health insurance premium in the private sector had a dramatic increase to $2,655 for single coverage and $6,772 for family coverage, an increase of 33.3 percent and 36.7 percent, respectively, since 1996, according to new data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ, 2000).
Roughly 2.8 trillion dollars is spent currently on health care in the United States (Kliff, 2014). In 2013, the United States spent almost 50 percent more than the next highest health care spender, France (The Commonwealth Fund, 2016). Many experts agree health care costs consumes a significant portion of economic output as well as increased premium costs. Several factors are contributing to cost escalation such as defensive medicine, increase in the elderly population, and growth of technology (Shi & Singh, 2016). The United States is considered to have mostly a private health care system, however it spends more money on the public health care system than countries with a completely public health care system. Government funded programs, such as Medicare, play a considerable roll in health care expenditures. It is projected that Medicare expenditures will rise to 9 percent of the GDP by the year 2050 (Shi & Singh, 2016). Further concern arises with drug costs in the United
To begin with, drug companies are not helping people by providing a series of choices people can choose to get better health care services. One reason pricing goes up is because of fraud. People gaming the system or committing fraud are making the prices increase on a lot of known medications. People who game the system apply false prices on drugs which leads to the government paying companies. To stop this we need to have harsher penalties for people caught gaming the system. Pharmacy’s rising in price because of general and medical cost inflation. Private and public payers are calling for pricing to be lowered. Breakthroughs with medicine create economic and public health utility...
Around 60% percent of Americans depend on prescription drugs to treat acute and chronic illnesses these range from diabetes, heart diseases, arthritis, high blood pressure and depression (Campanelli, 2012). These drugs play a vital role in the well-being of Americans. These drugs are associated for increasing the lifespan of Americans from 47 years to 78 years. The elderly in our nation, people who are 65 years and above, majority of them in a month take prescription drugs once or more times (Kaufman, et al, 2002). The prices of prescription drugs have risen at an alarming rate in the past few years this has threatened the access and affordability of these drugs. Every day in the papers and news channels, we hear how the costs