The Health Care Industry Affecting The Healthcare Industry

In the United States, access to health care is largely determined by who has financing to receive insurance (Shi & Singh, 2013, p. 197) Financing for health care comes from many different entities. For most Americans who have health insurance through their employment, the employers pay a part of the insurance premium and employees pay the rest (Shi & Singh, 2013, p.

The cost of health insurance has changed drastically over the years as it has become more expensive. Depending on personal characteristic, the cost of health insurance may vary. For instance, as individuals grow older the more expensive it becomes. In this case, health insurance is more costly because “older individuals require more health care” therefore “the cost of providing health care is rising” (Madura &Atlantic, 2012). Not only does this affect the high cost of health insurance, but the number of individuals uninsured. As stated by Madura and Atlantic (2012), “about one in every five workers is uninsured” and has increased since then because health insurance has become unaffordable. As a result, individuals tend to seek health care elsewhere as they can no longer

Rising health insurance premiums have made healthcare unaffordable in the United States. Health insurance premiums in this country have undergone a steady rise over the past few years while incomes have remained the same. More than 50% of individuals with low incomes holding private insurance in the United States are unable to afford their healthcare costs (Collins, Gunja, Doty & Buetel, 2015). In addition, costs related to healthcare are equally unaffordable to 25% of working-age individuals who hold private health insurance policies (Collins et al., 2015). According to the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Educational Trust (Kaiser/HRET) survey on employer health benefits, employer-sponsored health insurance plans have also had moderate rises in premiums in 2013 for both individuals and family coverage (Claxton et al., 2013). While

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.

Health insurance is provided by Medicaid and Medicare to elderly and disabled people and poor children. People working for large companies receive health insurance through their employer. Unfortunately, people working for small businesses, those self-employed, and the working poor are left without options to purchase health insurance at an affordable cost. This creates a divide between the haves and have-nots in terms of health care. Those who have health insurance will access the care they need, but those who do not have insurance will go without. This may include primary care interventions such as immunizations and regular health screenings. Rising health care costs have a direct effect on the number of uninsured individuals and, therefore, a direct effect the number of individuals that can access care.

Employers are continuing to face rising health benefit costs and are constantly looking for alternatives to control these escalating costs. Health benefit premiums continue to increase at a double digit pace for employers and employees (Poor, Ross & Tollen, 2004). This escalation is putting environmental pressures on all impacted stakeholders. Companies and insurance providers are squeezing this industry to get a handle on cost while still providing an appropriate level of care. This cycle puts the patient front and center as the ultimate stakeholder who incurs changes in health benefits. This mandate of cost control, efficient operations and market share has facilitated a constant analysis of the dynamic health

Continuous and life-long learning- Unlike other professions in healthcare field one has to keep in pace with the updates going on, know the new technology,

There can be many dilemmas for organizations that have serious regulatory issues. Organizations can be fined for even the smallest break in the regulations (Lester & Parnell, 2006). When there are major issues, imagine how high those fines may be. Not only may the fines be costly, but the cost of getting a company up to the necessary standards can also have a major effect. If the costs outweigh the profit, a company could potentially shut down.

Another reason for the rising cost of healthcare is the cost of physician care, according to the American Hospital Association “the cost of physician care, both to insurance and patients, has risen 1.3% during the past year.” Because of this increase doctors are put in a corner, they are already locked into an agreement with the insurance companies and do not have much ‘wiggle’ room to negotiate fees and rates. So because of this the patients and consumers are forced to pay a much larger sum. Since there are higher costs and the insurers will not cover them, they are distributes to the customers through higher deductibles, co-insurance, and

The impacts of a large portion of the population being uninsured can have an adverse reaction on the population who are insured. Study done by RAND Corporation and a UCLA shows that it hard for insured patients to find a regular source of care, have delay in their care or going care, and less satisfied with their care (Kelly, 2011, Para 2). Furthermore, high rates of uninsured population can also increase rate of acute health conditions and diagnoses. Thus, causing American health care to be more expensive and increase raise in disease, and sickness in the American population. According to Kaiser Family Foundation (2017), “Because people without health coverage are less likely than those with insurance to have regular outpatient care, they

Healthcare today is a very important issue. Lack of health insurance can affect the health and productivity of workers. Many people today do not have health insurance. Employment-based health insurance is in high demand to retain employees. The high healthcare costs make it hard for employers to offer employees quality health plans. The premiums for employers are increasing so they are forced to opt for cost-saving health insurance plans. Consumer-driven health plans are on the rise and have become an option for many employers.

In our society, the increasing cost of goods and services as time passes by is not a surprise at all. What surprised me the most after reading about the health benefits of employees in the Kaiser Family Foundation 2013 is the very steep rise in the price of health insurance premiums and deductibles while having a decreased extent of coverage. In a matter of a decade, there was a 147% increase in worker contribution and 114% increase in premiums (Estes, Chapman, Dodd, Hollister, & Harrington, 2013). If this trend continues, there would be a greater health disparity and lesser accessibility to healthcare. This could result to the hesitancy to even see a primary care provider and even worse if there is a referral to a specialist, which in turn

Most health care analyst believes that health benefits provided by employers are provided as part of the overall compensation paid to workers. Because of the rising cost of the health care benefits, employers’ shares of

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

There is a spacious room for lemon in insurance field. The price for health insurance is not fixed, it varies based on the level of the need an applicant may require for the insurance. As in the case of elderly people over the age 65, it is well known that it is very difficult for them to get health insurance because of its high price as they certainly will need it more than other applicants. On the other hand, employees working in companies are offered health insurance as a part of the companies’ policies and regulations. This actually create more room for lemon in the insurance field and less chance for old people who need it more. This ended up with adverse selection by the insurance companies. (A.Akerlof, Aug