The Cost Of Healthcare : An Unsettling Factor For Much Of The World

It is no secret that the cost of American healthcare is becoming increasingly more expensive. However, the issue of the rising cost of healthcare and its severity needs to be recognized as a major problem. Health prices are steadily increasing in the United States, and there is no sign of it stopping. Since 1970, spending on American health care has grown 9.8%, which is a rate that is growing faster than the economy (“New Technology”.) Furthermore, health insurance premiums are also increasing at a rate five times faster than American salaries, which makes it difficult for families to afford health care coverage (Zuckerman 28). Therefore, it has become an obligation to address why the cost of American health care is soaring and to seek out a solution to lower the cost. Many would jump to the conclusion that the United States simply charges too much for their medical services, but there are deeper influences that need to be analyzed. The causes of the rising cost of health care are people not using preventive health care, the development of modern technology, and the treatments being overprescribed. A possible solution is to have preventive health care services available in clinics of low-income areas.

In The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care (2009), the author of the book, T.R. Reid travels to industrialized democracies to discuss the different methods of health care delivery system used in these developed countries and compare them to the health care system of the United States. According to T.R. Reid (2009), “the thesis of this book is that we can find cost-effective ways to cover every American by borrowing ideas from foreign models of health care” (Reid, 2009, p. 11). This thesis illustrates that the American health care system can manage health care costs effectively and provide care to all by using some of the successful health care delivery models of foreign nations. The purpose of this book analysis is to discuss the four different health care models presented in this book and provide my prioritization or ranking of these models. This analysis also aims to investigate a case known as the Nikki White case described in this book and discuss the lessons learned from it. Furthermore, this analysis is going to provide my remarks on the, “An Apple a Day” comment relative to the Public Health Model. Lastly, in this book analysis, I will share my conclusion on the basic premise of the book along with my take away messages that I will remember into my future as a Public Health professional.

Having access to quality healthcare is major part of one’s life however the cost of care has been on the rise over the past decades and continue to rise every day due to many situation such

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.

What I currently view as an Economic issue would be the rising costs of Health Care, everyone needs Healthcare, but because of how expensive it is, most of the population cannot afford it. Even if people do have Health Care, they cannot afford paying the high premiums, out of pocket and high deductibles. Health care might not seem like an important topic, but is necessary for the daily lives of people, nobody knows what will happen in the next second of their lives. Everyone needs affordable health care and I think that reducing the cost of health care and making it possible for everyone to afford it would make everyone happy.

In the article, “Our Big Appetite for Healthcare” written by Daniel J. Stone was in the March 31 2013 issue for Los Angeles Times. Doctor Stone intended audience are the reader of the Los Angeles Time. Stone’s purpose in this article is to persuade his readers that he wants to change the healthcare culture from “more is better” to “do what is medically indicated to provide the best outcome”. Stone supports his argument with strategies and evidence.

The rising cost of health care is a trend that is negatively influencing access to health care. According to our course textbook, Policy and Politics in Nursing and Health Care, over 46 million Americans did not have health coverage in 2008, and 25 million American adults were underinsured (p. 124-125). For most people, this can be attributed to the high cost of premiums, co-pays, and deductibles. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the history of the trend of rising health care costs, the influence rising costs have on the delivery of health care, how rising costs create disparities in health care, and two ways that nurses can address inadequate access to health care.

The Role of Technology in Rising Health Care Costs. What should or shouldn’t be done.

“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 solutions suggested by the movie are clear, attainable, fair and fiscally possible. Money will keep driving the issue and we can make a change in the game of healthcare by becoming aware of the issue and lobbying against the status quo, which is clearly not working for the greatest country on earth.

There is no doubt that healthcare cost are rising out of control. No one likes the

The biggest point that stood out to me from Mr. Larsson's speech was when he said that "going to the hospital is a lottery", because not all hospitals provide the same quality service. Shortly after, he explained the story about the Swedish surgeons in the 70's who got together and argued over who's technique for surgery was the best. They used critical success factors because they realized that by putting cement in before the metal shaft, the hip replacement lasts much longer (which increases customer satisfaction). More or less, if healthcare companies can somehow communicate with each other and learn from each other, healthcare in every country can get better.

Thus, Kaiser Permanente is working in a rapidly changing health care environment that requires constant change. Their mission is to provide high quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of their members and the communities they serve (KP, 2016a). Their vision states they are trusted partners in total health, collaborating with people to help them thrive, and creating communities that are among the healthiest in the nation (KP, 2016a). Therefore, advancing the mission on affordability will help them achieve their main goals, to perform, grow, and lead while keeping affordability at the center (Kaiser Permanente, personal communication, February 2015). First, drive performance in care, quality, and service at a lower cost, enabled by their people, places, and technology. Second, pursue core and new growth with an increasing focus on consumers. Third, lead national health care change through expertise, trust, and

John Q is a movie that discusses a major problem which is the increasing prices of healthcare. It highlights how insurance companies can never tell a client his health defects in order to reduce their expenses, and how they can even turn the client from full-coverage to part-coverage without him knowing. In the movie, this led to heart failure to a child whose parents could not afford the cost of the heart transplant operation. After selling all their possessions, getting donations, and trying every way out, the father resorted to violence and locking up the hospital until his son’s name gets onto the hearts recipients’ list (John Q). Is he a hero? Are people who defy the norm to achieve a great endpoint heroes? Heroes have always been known for their courage, but who said that exploiting people and using their rights as building blocks is courageous? If we live in a world where “the ends justify the means,” we will be living in a jungle where people go around destroying, lying, cheating, or killing if they have a cause. The ends do not justify the means even though the people who consider themselves “heroes” can be seen anywhere today: with you at work, among our children in schools, in sports, in businesses, in the field of medicine. Even some prostitutes consider themselves “heroes”.

This talk was very moving, and it really opened my eyes to what people go through when dealing with illnesses and healthcare in this country. He talks about healthcare spending and brings up very interesting statistics that could be used in an essay about healthcare in America. He also talks about people’s quality of life and how not putting them through all of the invasive procedures could have a positive impact of their final days. He is very knowledgeable and has a tony of experience in this topic and is overall a very good resource for anybody writing a paper about this sort of thing.