Obama Care Case Study Solution

Rising health care costs became an issue after the Medicare and Medicaid programs were formed in 1965 and have continued to be a factor in the United States economy since then. “By1970, U.S. government expenditures for health care services and supplies had grown by 140%, from $7.9 billion to $18.9 billion.”() By the 1990s the annual increase in the government health care expenditures was finally brought under control and has fluctuated between a 5% and 8% increase each year since then. This essay will discuss the different factors contributing to the rising costs of health care in the United States, as well as how the cost of health care affects the accessibility and quality of medical care throughout American history.

The single most important impetus for healthcare reform throughout recent history has been rising costs (Sultz, 2006). In the book called The healing of America: a global quest for better, cheaper, and fairer health care, Reid wrote that the nation’s health care system has become excessively expensive, ineffective, and unjust. Among the world’s developed nations, the US ranks near the bottom for healthcare access and quality. However, the US ranks at the top for health expenditure as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and average of $7,400 per person (Reid, 2010). Therefore, Americans are spending

The increase of expenses - As politicians continue their dissension amongst each other, the situation is worsening in our healthcare system. According to the World Health Organization, to achieve universal health coverage, countries need a financial system that enables people access to all types of health services without incurring financial hardship (Carrin, Mathauer, Xu, & Evans, 2011). This idea would be the foundation of innovative ideas that the U.S. could reform its healthcare system, but too many ideas are sabotaging any valid efforts. In the mean time, the U.S. healthcare system continues to deal with issues such as the increasing uninsured Americans (over 49 million), expensive administrative procedures and the inability to measure the accuracy of quality of care, access of care, and the increasing healthcare spending and financing that limit our ability to efficient utilize resources.

In 1998, the United States devoted 13% of its economy to health care, and this figure rose to 16% by 2008. However, despite this rise in government expenditure on health care, outcomes for patients remained the same (Obama, 2016). The quality of the health care system in general was not great; health care

healthcare system preforms inadequately and is ranked 37th in the world next to countries who don’t have the advanced medicine or technology like the U.S. which is terrifying. Among the top wealthiest countries we are dead last and highest health expenditures according to common wealth fund. How is it possible that a country like ours that has all the technology in the world fall short in providing health care? The answer – money, America’s health care has become more of a business than a service. America has, become an over medicated country consumed by greed by private practice insurance and physicians. Unlike other countries where it’s a service provided to its citizens everybody is insured, everybody has access to quality health care at a low cost.

Garber, A., & Skinner, J. (2008). Is American health care uniquely inefficient? Journal of Economic Perspective, 22(4), 27-50.

The United States’ health care system is spiraling out of control as the years pass. Health care costs are increasing, causing more Americans to fall into debt.1 In 2012, the cost per hospital day in the United States was over $12,000 as compared to other countries such as Australia and France, whose cost per hospital day were $1472 and $853 respectively.1 “If the United States health care system was a country, it would be the sixth largest economy on the entire planet.”1 In the comparison of health care and gas, a family of four spends roughly $21,000 on health care while only spending $3000 on gas per year.1 While the cost of health care is rising in the United States, the health of Americans is not increasing. In 2016, the life

This is a serious long-term concern, and needs to be addressed. Some methods to ensure medications are lowered and kept at prices Americans can afford, is to create policies to demand transparency from pharmaceutical companies, allow generic drugs to be created, and remove the ban on Medicare permitting them from negotiating prices on medications.

The healthcare industry in America spend $1.878 trillion in health care, comprising 16% of the gross domestic product and amount to $6,280 per capita thereby out pricing the GDP due to the rapid development of medical technology resulting in treatment of disease, rising expectation about value of health care services, government financing, growth of elderly population and lack of competitive market (Williams & Torrens, 2008). Furthermore in 2004, Medicare/Medicaid contributed to 56% of hospital reimbursement and 59% of Medicaid funding is contributed from by the federal general treasury with the states averaging 41% of the contribution resulting in $309 billion in Medicare health services while Medicaid spent $213.5 billion in 2002 (Williams

Our sister country Canada Health has a drug review board to assist with keeping price points in line for the Canadian people. The drug review board for Canada assesses all new prescription drugs on the market and determines how effective the drug is compared to the relative drug that is already on the market. After adequate research the Canada Health system decides what they are willing to pay for the drug; if they are unable to reach an agreement that prescription is not allowed to be provided with in the country and an alternative approved drug will be used in its place. As of right now for us in the United States, our hands are tied; private and even federal-government provided insurance Medicare, cannot by law negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies (Kounang).

In an article in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, the doctors laid out their long list of proposed reforms, which includes allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for lower costs. The group also wants patients to be allowed to get medication from Canada, which some Medicare negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies and letting patients import less expensive medicines from other countries like Canada. The experts’ article notes the same cancer drugs in Canada cost about half of what they do here in the U.S.

“Medicare formularies have looked to create tier structures that are more complex than the two-tier framework with generic medications on tier 1 and brand medications on tier 2, and shift a greater cost burden for the patients through increased cost sharing.” (Patel, Audet, 2014) Another possibility is the federal government creates and mandates a caped pricing for all drugs, mediations and treatments. Capping the price on drugs and copays ensures that the prices don’t continue to rise to the point of being unobtainable. Some however would argue that by doing this it would create a monopoly of pricing and take away all incentive for companies to be competitive in drugs costs. Some may ask why does the federal government care, well because its simple they have the responsibility to ensure good public order and ensure economic stability. The federal government also has the ability to cut cost through systems and policies such as Medicare and the Affordable Care Act by making copays for individuals cheaper and ensuring the local doctors, clinics and facilities prescribe the most effective affordable

The American Health Care system to say the least is wasteful, bloated, and generally inefficient and therefore in dire need for immediate review. This has largely been as a result of factors such as costs, poor investment return for outlays, inequitably distribution, and being based on anachronistic business model geared at treating diseases more than promoting wellness. The figures are all there to see why a radical surgery of the health care reforms has been long overdue.

In recent decades, health care expenditures for the average American citizen have escalated. In the 1980s, the total cost of care came to two hundred fifty three billion dollars. In 1990, the value skyrocketed to seven hundred fourteen billion. Today, the United States healthcare cost averages to two and a half trillion dollars, which is more than three times the amount of the 1990 value. In other terms, an average American pays about seventy seven hundred dollars a year for the price of healthcare. As one of the highest rates in the world, this figure accounts for about sixteen percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (Auerbach).

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