Health Care Cost Analysis

“There are three basic goals for a National Health Care System; 1) keeping people healthy, 2) treating the sick and 30 protecting families against financial ruin from medical bills”, (Physicians for a National Health Program, 2016). No truer statement could there possibly be written or proclaimed as there is a crisis in healthcare costs across the United States. United States, one of the most developed western country, yet we suffer from – higher infant mortality rates, have shorter life spans and are affected by more chronic disease and or illness – than our contemporaries all while spending the most for insurance per capita and less annual doctor visits with less physicians, (OECD Health Data 2015). There is a question to be answered, “why”, why are we trailing our contemporaries and more important than that is, is our National Health Care system really working for us? The year 2010 was the beginning of change in the United States where we transitioned from primarily private insurance and welfare to a universal healthcare model, under President Obama with the signing into Law of the Affordable Health Care Act March of 2010. The purpose of the Affordable health care act is to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable healthcare, however in 2016 we are still questioning we’ve been successful based on funding, government sponsored healthcare programs, effects on the current HCO, elderly, military and accessibility.

One of the issues is the increasing cost of healthcare which is dominating the health policy in U.S. this is accompanied by an increase in spending on healthcare. According to projections by the government, the spending on medical care will continue to rise. U.S spends more money on health care than any other nation globally (Holtz, 2013). The increase in the spending is as a result of improved tools for disease diagnosis, better surgical interventions among others. This raises an issue for the policy makers on the maximum GDP percentage that a country has to spend on healthcare, and whether the nation will afford the cost that is continually growing. In contemplating any change in the health policy, policy makers should consider the cost of the healthcare and the ability of the nation to support that high cost.

25% or more of one’s income going toward health care is too much for today’s economy this

“The amount people pay for health insurance increased 30 percent from 2001 to 2005, while income for the same period of time only increased 3 percent.” (Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). The rising cost of healthcare is a huge problem in America today. In this paper I will analyze the different issues and causes for the increase in cost.

The main economic challenge for the healthcare system in the United State will be the rising expenses associated with Medicare and Medicaid. The Governments share of healthcare spending is predicted to rise to 31 percent by the year 2020 (Keehan, Sisko, Truffer, Poisal, Cuckler, Madison, Lizonitz, and Smith, 2011). This may jeopardize the economic stability and financial security of the nation.

The cost of healthcare has and will continue to rise in the United States. Some factors that contribute to those hikes are due to the consumer demanding more complex services from health care providers. Things such as new technology, equipment, research and testing procedures, along with pharmacy, and the number of uninsured are all dynamics of the increased cost in health care. The U.S. health care system relies heavily on third-party payers; these payers include commercial insurers and the Federal and state governments. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, the National Health Expenditure grew 3.6% to $2.9 trillion in 2013, or $9,255 per person, and accounted for 17.4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Id.

Rising medical costs are a worldwide problem, but nowhere are they higher than in the U.S. Although Americans with good health insurance coverage may get the best medical treatment in the world, the health of the average American, as measured by life expectancy and infant mortality, is below the average of other major industrial countries. Inefficiency, fraud and the expense of malpractice suits are often blamed for high U.S. costs, but the major reason is overinvestment in technology and personnel.Health care costs are far higher in the United States than in any other advanced nation, whether measured in total dollars spent, as a percentage of the economy, or on a per capita basis. And health costs here have been rising significantly faster

Today, health care issues within the United States are still a major concern in regards to where people of our communities do not always agree with what is being done and what is not being done. The three major issues with health care spending is how much is it going to cost and where is the money going to come from? The amount of per-patient costs have doubled more in the United States than other nations around us. The last issue is the amount of Americans that has no health care at all. This paper will discuss the healthcare expenditures that is necessary for our entire population.

Federal health care costs continue to exceed the American economy fueled by federal health care law, rising enrollments, and increased enrollee spending. The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) significantly changed federal health care policies in the key areas of insurance coverage, access to care, medical care financing, and Medicare program operations. ACA provides good benefits to Americans but comes with a 12.2% increase in cost to the federal government (Meyer, 2017). Health care costs are projected to increase to more than $4 trillion dollars by the end of 2017 nearly doubling since 2006 (Meyer, 2017). Economists project this trend to continue estimating a 6.9% increase annually making it the single highest cost to the federal government (Edwards, 2017). The cost of health care is approaching a crisis if unchecked will continue to grow. Congress has struggled to reach consensus on a more efficient approach to managing health cares costs failing in 2017 to repeal or replace ACA. They will need to reengage now to enact laws to stabilize this looming threat to the American people. I recommend three changes to reduce the impact to federal debt. These changes are repeal individual and employer mandates,

Medicare focuses on medical acute care such as doctors visit, hospital stays and drugs. Also, it focuses on short-term services such as physical therapy after a fall or stroke (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2013). Medicare covers services for long term care such as short stay in a skilled nursing facility, home heath services and hospice/respite care, but it does not cover costs for personal/custodial care such as help with bathing, dressing, eating, etc.. In 2015, Forbes reported that Medicare will pay for some of the costs only if a patient meets the following conditions:

The United States (US) cost of health is higher than other countries. The population health status has improved but more work needs to be done. However, in 2007 the US spent $7,290 per capital on health care. In the early 1990’s health care spending was $714 billion by 2007 the spending was 2.2 trillion dollars (Berryman, Palmer, Kohl, & Parham, 2013).

There are many reasons to why healthcare has gone up and one of those reasons is the increase of medical technology. As the years advance, the medical technology advances as well with more sophisticated approaches to many different type of illnesses; such as CT scanners, implantable defibrillators and surgeries like angioplasty and joint replacements. According to Hastings Center, “new or increased use of medical technology contributes 40–50% to annual cost increases”. With this information we can see that order to reduce healthcare due to medical technology we must learn to to control it and manage the amount that goes into the market. The Hasting Center also mentioned that “universal care is the only tried and effective way to control costs but will involve a large cultural shift because cutting the use of technology will seem wrong—even immoral—to many”. With this being said, many citizens would greatly appreciate that the healthcare cost would be lowered but having the cost lowered may mean that the government

Often a time individuals living in America wonders how the health care system could change for the better. One problem that has constantly troubled the minds of consumers have been the subject of health care cost and restrictions invoked by health care coverage providers. At the moment, most of the American people need quality health care services resulting mainly from lack of health care coverage. Here in the United States health care policy and health care service has become controversial domestic issue. Most Americans have this believe that there is a strain on their budgets resulting from how

US health care expenditures have been rising quickly over the past few years; it has risen more than the national financial system. Nonetheless a number of citizens in the US still lack appropriate health care. If the truth be told, health care expenditures are going to continue to increase; in addition numerous individuals will possibly have to make difficult choices pertaining to their health care. Our health system has grave problems that require reform, through reforming, there is optimism that there will be an increase in affordable health care and high-quality of care for America. Medicaid, Medicare and private sector insurances are all going through trials and tribulations because of

The healthcare system plays a key role in the economic stability of our country, as every year trillions are spent in attempt to combat disease and health issues that plaque humanity. As it makes up a significant amount of the expenditures in the economy, so the costs associated with health care of those in pain from illness and injury, including lost productivity, increased need of assistance in living and also the cost of death in some cases, is important to the economic stability and over all standard of living in our country. The key to economic prosperity is balancing the need for care with the costs of illness to keep as many people healthy and well without breaking the bank of collective society. The costs of healthcare have been increasingly problematic in recent years with so many issues surrounding the current system. With the “total health care spending in the United States expected to reach $4.8 trillion in 2021, up from $2.6 trillion in 2010 and $75 billion in 1970, meaning that health care spending will account for nearly 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or one-fifth of the U.S. economy, by 2021” (Aetna). With this in mind it is apparent that as we look at the trillion-dollar industry of the medical community it seems that it needs to be a major focus of our nation as a whole and with the many issues come many creative solutions. First let us analyze the reasons behind the current cost and the major problems facing this industry and than discus what