Wk 3- Health Care Cost Discussion Summary

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1 Health Care Cost Discussion Summary Kirsten Mestayer, Tee Chester, Jacqueline Burns, Heather Smith, Eva Cruz, Karen Gonzales University of Phoenix MHA 598 Instructor: Dianna Iobst 8/1/2023

2 1. Kirsten Mestayer Discussion According to “A Dozen Facts About the Economic of the US Health-Care System,” written by Ryan Nunn, Jana Parsons, and Jay Shambaugh, most of the spending in the health care industry is used on professional services, a quarter of spending, and hospitals, a third of the spending. Home health, nursing homes, and long-term care facilities take up 13% of health care spending, prescriptions take up 9% and insurance uses 7%. By reducing unnecessary services and increasing labor supply, the cost of labor would decrease. The cost of labor takes up majority of healthcare costs instead of investment in capital, the article stated. From my point of view, health care spending is high due to the new and more complex forms of technology that providers are inventing and using. These expensive electronics can allow prescribers and hospitals to charge more for procedures. Another issue the economy faces is a large percentage of the world or uninsured and use state funding, such as Medicaid and Medicare. This causes the cost of other insurances and taxes to rise, which hurts the other portion of the world (Nunn et al., 2020). A strategy I would suggest would be allowing us to take a step back from technology and take on some of the older ways of doing things. Keeping and electronic medical record system would benefit us by things being less time consuming and more organized, but there are somethings that can be cut, such as medications and bringing back the natural forms of medicine. Someone people would disagree with this, but I feel like sometimes a more natural medication is a better option and less toxic. I also would suggest having one massive company to distribute medical supplies. If we cut out competition in supplies, price gouging would lower and health

3 care would stabilize, making everyone more equal verses more competitive. I believe if the article would have been written post COVID pandemic, many facts would change. References: Nunn, R., Parsons, J., & Shambaugh, J. (2020, March 10). A dozen facts about the economy of the US health-care system . The Hamilton Project. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/a- dozen-facts-about-the-economics-of-the-u-s-health-care-system/ Responses Tee Chester Good Evening, I possess limited knowledge regarding the health care industry; however, I concur with the notion that a significant portion of expenditure within this sector is allocated towards professional services, accounting for approximately 25% of total spending, and hospitals, which represent approximately one-third of the expenditure. Moreover, I acknowledge your perspective that the high levels of health care spending can be attributed to the development and utilization of novel and intricate technological advancements by providers. Based on my research findings, it has been reported by the Brookings Institute in 2020 that a multitude of economic issues were identified as contributors to the elevated expenses associated with healthcare. Moreover, a significant proportion of healthcare expenditures can be attributed to inpatient care and professional services. According to Nunn (2020), the reduction of labor expenses cannot be achieved solely through capital investments, but rather requires a confluence of factors such as an increase in the labor supply, stringent limitations on nonphysician roles, and the elimination of unneeded services.

4 Reference: Nunn, R., Parsons, J., & Shambaugh, J. (2020, March 10). A dozen facts about the economics of the US health-care system. Brookings Institute. https://www.brookings.edu/research/a- dozen-facts-about-the-economics-of-the-u-s-health-care-system/ Heather Smith Kirsten, I do see your point on reducing companies in regard to healthcare supplies and having just one massive company, however, it does come with extreme consequences. Natural disasters and COVID for example could take out that one manufacturer and then there would be a significant problem. In 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. It also took out Baxter Healthcare and other companies that manufacture most of the United States supply of saline (Becze, 2017). This catastrophic event led to significant changes in the use of saline. Instead of giving meds via IV piggyback, many had to resort to an IV push method. This problem was made worse by the influenza cases of 2018 and the increased demand. The same thing happened when COVID shut down many manufacturers of products. Can't put all of our eggs in just one basket but it would be great if we could. Reference: Becze, E. (2017, November 16). Yes, there's a saline shortage, but here's what you can do about it . ONS Voice. https://voice.ons.org/news-and-views/yes-theres-a-saline-shortage-but- heres-what-you-can-do-about-it Jacqueline Burns

5 Hi Kirsten, I embrace the idea of introducing and educating the community about the "choice" of natural medication which has been proven effective and less costly. I personally enjoyed acupuncture and meditation which was very effective when I was experiencing migraines. Please note results from a study below. Complementary medical practices evaluated included acupuncture, homeopathy, tai chi, meditation, reflexology, hydrotherapy, naturopathy, and massage. Patients were enrolled in either the Western medicine group or the Complementary Alternative Group. Patients were not randomized between the two treatment groups, but they were matched by disease pathology and severity, age, and sex. Furthermore, selected patients had completed at least one year in the health system, as the investigators reasoned that this would enable them to evaluate their follow- up. Overall, the investigators found that complementary medicine was between 53 and 63 percent less expensive than conventional medicine for achieving equivalent levels of effectiveness. Complementary medicine was especially cost-effective for osteoarthritis, hypertension, facial paralysis, and peptic ulcers. (Debas et al., n.d.). Reference: Debas, H. T., Laxminarayan, R., & Straus, S. E. (n.d.). Chapter 69Complementary and Alternative Medicine. National Library of Medicine . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11796/#:~:text=Overall%2C%20the %20investigators%20found%20that,facial%20paralysis%2C%20and%20peptic %20ulcers. Eva Gutierrez Cruz

6 Hi Kirsten, It looks like there is not much to add since everything was already said but I do agree with you that having the option of natural medicine for patients instead of the usual prescription drugs can not only benefit the health of the patient but the hospital monetary wise as well. Also, that is great idea to have all medicine under one company. Not only would it make things much cheaper but make getting medicine much easier for both the patient and the hospital. Great job! Final Summary According to “A Dozen Facts About the Economic of the US Health-Care System,” written by Ryan Nunn, Jana Parsons, and Jay Shambaugh, most of the spending in the health care industry is used on professional services, a quarter of spending, and hospitals, a third of the spending. Home health, nursing homes, and long-term care facilities take up 13% of health care spending, prescriptions take up 9% and insurance uses 7%. By reducing unnecessary services and increasing labor supply, the cost of labor would decrease. The cost of labor takes up majority of healthcare costs instead of investment in capital, the article stated. From my point of view, health care spending is high due to the new and more complex forms of technology that providers are inventing and using. These expensive electronics can allow prescribers and hospitals to charge more for procedures. Another issue the economy faces is a large percentage of the world or uninsured and use state funding, such as Medicaid and Medicare. This causes the cost of other insurances and taxes to rise, which hurts the other portion of the world (Nunn,2020). A strategy I would suggest would be allowing us to take a step back from technology and take on some of the older ways of doing things. Keeping an electronic medical record system

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