The Issue Of Preventive Care

There are many policies discussed in the literature for reducing health care costs. I argue that preventive health care is the most efficient way to decrease health care costs. Preventive health care can be defined as services to prevent people from diseases, or before they become more expensive to treat or cure. Health promotion efforts and personal self-care constitutes primary level of preventive health care. Treatment services are curative and rehabilitative care services for curing or slowing down a health problem which has already started. Preventive health care is an effective way of lowering health care costs. Health promotion and disease prevention provides a healthy population with reduced health risks, and helps businesses to save money by participating in these programs (Goetzel, 2009).

For the last five years of my life I have worked in the healthcare industry. One of the biggest issues plaguing our nation today has been the ever rising cost of health care. If we don't get costs under control, we risk losing the entire system, as well as potentially crippling our economy. For the sake of our future, we must find a way to lower the cost of health care in this nation.

Every individual in the world deserves to enjoy health and wellness. Maintaining or achieving proper health needs enables individuals to be productive at work and leisure. Traditionally, many people have had barriers obtaining adequate healthcare due to economic constraints or personal inconveniences. Despite impressive technological advances in medicine, the challenge of delivering quality healthcare to the Americans continues to be debated amongst the nation’s political and healthcare leaders. The aging baby-boomers and the increased number of uninsured people add to the equation of population growth which results in limited access to primary healthcare for the entire public. On the

The American Medical Association (AMA) approximates that at least 25 cents of every dollar spent on health care in the U.S. is allocated to the management of diseases or debilities that stem from personal behaviors that can be changed by the individual (Andre et al)1. To what extent are people responsible for their own personal conduct and poor health decisions that result in serious yet avoidable illnesses and disabilities? Will charging people higher health insurance premiums help curb poor health habits?

Preventable causes of illnesses like smoking and obesity were left unaddressed, depleting precious resources and increasing costs of care. From the patient perspective, cost sharing measures for preventive services like deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance deterred individuals from undergoing essential preventive services like cancer screening, immunization, and counselling. Ultimately, $277 billion dollars were spent on treating illnesses which could have been prevented by broad based prevention programs, and we incurred a loss of $1.1 trillion dollars due to lost productivity as a result of chronic illnesses.

Consequently the U.S. spends more money than any other country on health care, and the medical care that is being provided may be compromised. Research has shown that the lack of health care insurance compromises a person’s health. However, there continues to be unnecessary death every year in the U.S. due to lack of health care

I chose the article “What factors Hinder Women of Color from Obtaining Preventive Health Care” to review because I found it interesting and full of truths. With that being said, I feel there are so many variable when it comes to woman and healthcare. This article is about a specific report done and all the research that backs up that report. The article explains how the research has regularly provided facts that health care inequalities exist between white and minority woman but more specifically minority women with lower income therefore a lack to access of health care, health care providers, and prevented care. It was in the 1985 Report of the “Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health” that listed the factors that cause these inequalities in health care among people of color which resulted from a lack of access to health care providers, differences in healthy behaviors, and environmental factors. The 1985 study found that regardless of race, woman of color who had a regular doctor were as likely to receive preventive health care which of course leads to healthier woman.

In our first week of class, we have looked at the first three chapters in, Health Care Delivery in the United States. The first chapter talks about how the health care system has moved from a mindset of restoring a person’s health, into the phase of preventative medicine, which we see now. This has resulted from measurement of how the health care system is working, and with research looking at patients throughout the years. We now know, that any problem, disease, or condition, should be treated early or prevented if possible. The health care system has been working with public education to make citizens aware of what tests and preventative programs will be of assistance to them. (Knickman & Kovner, A., 2015).

Conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes account for 75% of health care spending in the United States and (cdc.gov). However, many of these chronic conditions are preventable with proper preventative screenings and care. The passage of the Affordable Care and the expansion of Medicaid increased the number of preventative care services available to Medicaid beneficiaries, however there are still many barriers preventing people from getting proper care. This policy paper analyzes possible options to improve access to preventative health services and then provides recommendations. This policy brief is targeted towards the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid who administer the Medicaid program as well as state agencies that regulate the Medicaid program in each state. The CMS has the power to help prevent diseases in a large population of people and this brief will argue why it is their responsibility to do so. The purpose of this brief is that Medicaid administrators will realize the gaps in coverage and implement reforms to help some of the most high risk people in the United States.

America's healthcare system is extremely fragmented which contributes to limited access, poor quality and escalating costs. People are living longer due to the advancements in technology, medical deliver and technology. As the population ages, there will be more people that with chronic conditions. Pre-existing conditions and chronic health conditions contribute to the rising cost of healthcare. Some of these conditions could be prevented if caught at an early stage. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) address some of the disparities among Americans, one being preventative services. Insurance companies are now required to insure patient with a previous health condition under the ACA. Research has shown that evidence-based preventive services can

Health care is one of the major worries for Americans. It is hard to believe that nearly “forty seven million Americans are uninsured”(Tucker). There are many people without health insurance because of pre-existing health conditions. There are also people who have health insurance but could lose their insurance if they should develop a serious medical problem. Then there are others who have health insurance, but are in danger of losing it because of rising health-care premiums. “Two million insured Americans spent more than a quarter of his or her salary on health care” (Tucker).

The U.S. health care system faces challenges and it is urgent that the American people become aware of these challenges. There are approximately 46 million Americans who are uninsured, and many insured Americans who face rapid increases in premiums have to pay out-of-pocket costs. As Congress and the Obama administration consider ways to invest new funds to reduce the number of Americans without insurance coverage, people must address shortfalls in the quality and efficiency of care that lead to higher costs and to poor health outcomes. If something is not done soon, there will be many more who will not have health care coverage that is affordable or they will be without coverage altogether.

Broad generalizations stating that preventative measures will greatly reduce future costs are exaggerated. A review of preventive measures in the New England Journal of Medicine found that less than 20 percent of 279 preventive measures saved money, the rest did not (Cohen, 2008). The study consisted of a “systematic review of the cost-effectiveness literature” that properly reduced future costs and benefits (Cohen, 2008, pg. 662). Still, many preventative measures are cost-effective in the sense that the improvement in health is worth the cost. Whether or not a particular intervention saves money is dependent on the prevention and the population in question. It is important to determine the costs and benefits of specific interventions in order to assess which particular preventative measures hold good or poor values. With increasingly limited resources, careful analysis should be conducted to identify opportunities for more efficient delivery of healthcare through the prevention of illnesses and disease.

Globally, countries struggle with the challenge of providing adequate healthcare services to all their citizens. The United States spent approximately 17.6% of its GDP on healthcare in 2010, which could escalate to close to 19.6% in 2021 if cost containing measures are not put in place to control healthcare spending (The Commonwealth Fund, 2012). Even with this large amount of healthcare spending, the U.S. has almost 50 million residents without health insurance and 29 million who are underinsured (The Commonwealth Fund, 2012). Tanner (2008) estimates “total U.S. healthcare spending exceeds $1.8 trillion dollars, more than Americans spend on housing, food, national defense, or automobiles” (p.2).

It is imperative for countries to have a functioning health care system so their citizens can live their best quality lives. However, the question is raised on whether to focus on the treatment of illnesses or the prevention of them. Preventive health care, if implemented correctly, could ideally prevent and stop illness and disease before drastic measures need to be taken, such as expensive surgeries. It is well-known knowledge that a healthy diet and exercise can help prevent illnesses, as a result, some programs might emphasize a healthy lifestyle. Sharon Begley’s article in Reuters mentions some programs that have helped reduce health care costs, such as the Boston Children’s Hospital asthma program that helps reduce patient’s environmental