Health Care : The Healthcare Industry

Universities stemmed some of the biggest medical advances in the health care industry amongst the world. The educational platform for the United States spells long term success for health care, by growing the next generation of top health care providers. In comparison Germany and Canada also are represented amongst the top 50 medical schools in the world, but lack any representation of the top 10 prestige rankings. On top of that, both other countries lack volume and opportunity to receive a valued medical education when compared to the United States.

The Great Depression in the 1930’s had been followed by a period of growing income inequality and a shrinking middle class. Due to the economic conditions, Income disparities in access to health care had grown much worse, medical costs were rising, and sickness became a leading cause of poverty. Since few people could afford to pay for medical care welfare agencies began to help pay for medical costs for the poor. By “1940, the population of the united states was 132 million with only 12 million – a little less than 10 percent covered by some form of health insurance”( Scofea, 1994). The growing concern of the increase in the number of people who are uninsured led to the enactment of the Stabilization act in 1942, which imposed wage and price controls but at the same time permitted the adoption of employee insurance plans. The federal government enacted this legislation to prevent employers from raising wages in order to compete for scarce labor in response to the inflation pressure of the wartime economy. Furthermore, the government provided private insurers with a new market for their products by permitting employers to offer health insurance to their employees. In the years that followed, the government passed several regulations that helped reinforced the institutionalization of the employment-based system of health insurance that

1920 – The cost of health insurance rises and medical attention converts tough for middle class to have the funds for. Universal and Baylor University begin to offer insurance to their health care workers.

The creation of a national health insurance program has been a political conversation since the Early 1940s. In 1940, approximately nine of ten Americans lacked health

To realize the importance of Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act we must first examine the past and how far we have come. The uncertainness of healthcare insurance has been an uphill battle for decades. During World War I, health insurance became an important public issue in the United States. Between 1915 and 1920, eight states appointed official commissions to investigate the subject. The movement for health insurance was initiated by the American Association for Labor Legislation, which had conducted an energetic and successful campaign for workers compensation laws.

In 1927, the Committee on the Costs of Medical Care was formed. This committee, which included health economists, physicians, and public health experts, researched the American health care environment and produced in 1932 a landmark report Medical Care for American People which revealed the significant discrepancy in costs, quality, and quantity of medical services in the United States. The primary concern was that health care system did not provide sufficient services to satisfy the health care needs of Americans, especially the minorities. Most people could not finance their health care needs themselves. Therefore, it was proposed to transform the system so that health care would be financed through insurance and taxation (Jost, 2012, p. 54). This initiative was widely supported and first insurance plans appeared.

In 1927, the Committee on the Costs of Medical Care was formed. These committees, which included health economists, physicians, and public health experts, researched the American health care environment and produced in 1932 a landmark report Medical Care for American People which revealed the significant discrepancy in costs, quality, and quantity of medical services in the United States. The primary concern is that health care systems do not provide sufficient services to satisfy the health care needs of Americans, especially the minorities. However, people do not have the financial stability to support their health care needs. Therefore, it was proposed to transform the system so that health care would be financed through insurance and taxation (Jost, 2012, p. 54). In fact the initiative was widely supported and the first insurance plans appeared.

Over many years, the ideas of healthcare have been heavily debated in the United States. From early years dating back to the nineteenth century, people have been involved in some form of health insurance. They would have this “insurance” in case of some form of accident, so that they would not have many losses of income. According to Sultz and Young, “As early as the 19th century, some Americans carried insurance against sickness through an employer, fraternal order, guild, trade union, or commercial insurance company (2014)”. Healthcare has greatly changed since its first trial and error days. There have been new policies and pieces of legislation that have been passed in efforts to try and have all Americans covered with some form of health insurance. However, the newest form of healthcare out on the market is the idea of Concierge medicine.

In 1945 President Harry S. Truman was the first president to propose a national health care program. His goal was to “insure that all communities, regardless of their size or income level, had access to doctors and hospitals” (“Harry S. Truman”, n. d.). The bill denounced by the American Medical Association (AMA) and characterized as “socialized medicine” (“Harry S. Truman”, n. d.) was ultimately abandoned. Twenty years later on July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson with former President Truman in attendance signed the Social Security Act Amendments into law better known as Medicare and Medicaid bill. This bill gave access to supplemental medical insurance and hospital coverage for people over age 65, and healthcare coverage to

Healthcare costs in the United States have increased dramatically over the last few decades compared to healthcare cost in other countries. In return, this has caused many issues like political reevaluation of our health care system, which involves funding and performance. Furthermore, the reasons for the high health care costs includes administrative costs of running the health care system sine about one quarter of health care costs are associated with administration. Additionally, the United States spends a large amount of money on drugs, professionals and required medical equipment to keep up with patient in need of health care. Moreover, high health care costs are a result of lack of competitive free markets, rapid diffusion of new technologies,

The demand for health insurance increased as medical technology further advanced and as government policies encouraged employers to use health coverage as a form of compensation for their employees. “The market for health insurance exploded in size in the 1940’s, growing from a total enrollment of 20,662,000 in 1940 to nearly 142,334,000 in 1950” (Health Insurance Institute, 1961).

Healthcare didn’t always exist in the United States. Before the 1920’s, most people didn’t have health coverage. Most people were treated at home and hardly anyone, except a few large employers offered healthcare. Everyone else paid out of pocket. As the population shifted from rural areas to urban centers, families lived in smaller homes with less room to care for sick family members (Faulkner 1960, p. 509). Increasing requirements for licensing and accreditation, in addition to a rising demand for medical care, eventually led to rising costs. By the end of 1920s, there was an increased demand for medical care and the costs of medical care increased.

Health economics is the discipline of economics applied to the topic of health care. Broadly defined, economics concerns how society allocates its

This literature review highlights articles and research that is significant to the Healthcare/ Marketing Industry. This literature review provides an overview of our current healthcare industry, the issues that have damaged the healthcare image, how the healthcare industry uses social media and techniques on improving marketing in the healthcare industry. The purpose of this review is to give further information on today’s healthcare industry and the factors that come from the industry.

The present challenges for the healthcare industry are significant. With a population that is forever aging, escalating costs, and the unsure impact of the Affordable Care Act, healthcare providers are under tremendous pressure to meet the needs of their patients while maintaining or even reducing costs. One such organization feeling this pressure is BayCare which is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 13 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. Inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, home care, and wellness. With over 3,100 practicing physicians and more than 58,500 surgeries performed annually, their budget for operating room supplies exceeds $80 million annually across all facilities. Morton Plant Hospital is faced with the challenge of reducing overall operating costs without sacrificing their high standards of patient care and safety. The hospital realized that surgical waste represented a huge opportunity to address. By providing visibility to information that was otherwise hidden, a case cart system would be able to track surgical materials issued, used, and returned; including between doctors, procedures, and locations. This could help the hospital to achieve a number of objectives including: guarantying that all material issued to the OR was accounted for