Healthcare_Spending

Health Care Spending Sharkia Fountain University of Phoenix HCS 440 November 01, 2010 Dawn Chiabotti Healthcare and it’s spending has and will continue to be a major discussion in the public. Year after year, there is millions of dollars spent on the healthcare facilities to improve them so that they provide better access and quality to the public. Over the years, there has been a lot of discussion on how to provide a better federal solution regarding healthcare however the outcome is still the same. The spending projection has been steadily rising. “According to Mathew DoBias, Jennifer Lubell and Cinda Becker the current national healthcare expenditure is believed to be over billions of dollars (as of 2007) giving a 16% gross domestic product. These calculations will have the healthcare expenditure to rise to 19.6% by the gross domestic product in 2016 startling the national healthcare expenditure up to $5,000 billion dollars, as per the CMS (Dobias, Lubell & Becker, 2007)”. Overall, the United States is known to be the largest healthcare spender throughout the world. Our country accounts for a majority of citizens who has their own health insurance or they are covered though their employer, which can be said that some are in good health. It is obvious that health insurance is expensive leaving some with high medical bills that is causing a lot of people to bankrupt. “Most Americans, 59.5%, receive their health insurance coverage through an employer and about 9% purchases it directly from the market. Government sources cover 27.3% of the population. In 2005, there were 46.6 million people in the U.S. (15.9% of the population) who were without healthcare insurance for at least part of that year.(ibid) Many of these may have been in between jobs at low risk of serious illness and therefore choosing to not to purchase it. In fact, approximately one-third of these 46.6 million who did not have health insurance for at least part of the year live in households with an income over $50,000, with half of these having an income of over $75,000. It is has been estimated that nearly one fifth of the uninsured population is able to afford insurance, almost one quarter is eligible for public coverage, and that the remaining 56% need financial assistance” (Wikipedia, 2007). Therefore, it is obvious that though people have their incomes over $50,000, they still don’t pursue for health insurance since it is too expensive. The place where we should reduce our expenditure should be the health insurance costs and the medical bills that would help over 45 million of the population to be easily insured and cover their health costs. Cutting down the expensive costs of the health insurance and medical bills can help in aiding the 56% in need of financial assistance as well, thereby raising the quality of life of the population that is in need of funds as well. The healthcare needs of the general public are mainly paid by their health insurance companies as well as other payers on a government level. According to the CMS office of Public Affairs, “Changes in public funding for health care had greatly influenced overall health spending in 2003.  Total public spending growth slowed significantly from 9.7 percent in 2002 to 6.6 percent in 2003.  Driving this was a slowdown in Medicaid spending growth, from 12.6 percent in 2002 to 6.9 percent in 2003 and the expiration of supplemental funding provisions in the Balanced Budget Refinement Act (BBRA) and the Medicare, Medicaid an and SCHIP Benefits Improvement Act (BIPA) to Medicare providers” (CMS Office of Public Affairs, 2005). Furthermore, such healthcare services and sources administration give us a $5.8 billion estimate in the current budget proposal. As we all know, the health issues have a significant effect on the social, political, economic status of a country. On a personal note, I agree with Aaron HJ on her notion regarding the public policy seeking to control the growth of the healthcare spending. She states, “Debate about whether to restrain health care spending is intensifying. Much of the debate revolves around efficient research allocation. The possible impact of cost control on the advance of medical technology merits more attention. Public and private efforts to slow growth of health spending have not enjoyed much success. Most recently, managed care failed because administrators lacked political legitimacy. Politically established budget limits can hold down spending, but the United States seems unwilling to adopt them; even if it were, the technology to administer them rationally does not exist. In this situation, efforts to hold down cost growth carry grave risks” (HJ, 2003). This might pose to be a possible solution. According to Lynn Gardner, the main problem she sees is the lack of healthcare insurance that includes millions of people across the nation. They are paying huge bills for their rising costs. She states that the current status of the health market is restricted which means that, “insurance industry is a group of profit-seeking firms, but the consumers do not have free choice to switch between the market alternatives. Consumers cannot tell their insurance companies about their disapproval with their insurance plans because it is difficult to switch plans.” She suggests that the health market should not be restricted but should be made free so that the consumers have the facility to switch to plans and other needs according to their financial disposition. This also counts in the fact that the insurance companies should be forbidden for making discounts to the employers of the companies. The health insurance that one applied for should be tax- deductible (Gardner, n.d.). This was one idea, a prospective change that we can keep in mind for future purposes. However, it should be noted that the uncontrollable status of our nation’s health expenditure might as well lead to a crisis. If we look at the records of past a decade now, we see people being less acceptable to changes and the concept of managed care (that once proved to be a useful solution for the healthcare in the 1980’s) has therefore gained a negative appearance. There have been hardly any good results though United States has been spending more per capita on the healthcare than the other developed nations (RT, 2001). The lack of information and knowledge regarding the health care needs has been the main problem of the public and therefore, leading to such high expenditures. The needs of the healthcare system are many and one of the future promises that our nation should make is to have a healthcare system that can be controlled by the consumers, by helping them make their own choices and not just an enforced decision. The consumer should be able to make the changes at his or her own pace and needs and only then we can have the healthcare expenditures reduced and more efficient results. We need a flexible health insurance in order to have more success at what we are trying to achieve. I agree with President Bush’s Health Reformation for the 21st century where he has accurately addressed the healthcare needs of the nation in a very adequate manner. For instance, he states that the health insurance will be allowed to be purchased beyond the state’s borders. The idea addresses the needs of the public more adequately is producing an audience (a public) that is well-informed and empowered to make changes. The prices as well as the health insurance packages should not only be easy to understand but flexible to fit in to the individuals’ budget as well. Furthermore, the coverage should be affordable for everyone, irrespective of income (Whitehouse.gov, 2006). The following needs have to be addressed and put into practice as they will cut down the rising healthcare expenditures plus giving us the required results as well. Furthermore, these needs can be financed by the government and several institutions (including the healthcare providers, employers and insurance companies). The statistics and future forecast of the healthcare in the United States has given us an opportunity to revise our goals and therefore, we should do the best we can to make use of all the possible resources that would help us do the best. After all, it is not just a matter of healthcare policy… it’s a matter that relates to our nation and its development so it is our duty to work towards our goals and do the best. Only the public can make a difference and voicing the opinions is the only way to challenge those who have been unfair. We need results and not just rising healthcare costs and expenditures. If we are spending, we want the outcome that we deserve. References Do Bias, Matthew. Lubell, Jennifer. Becker, Cinda (2007). CMS: Spending growth slows. Modern Healthcare; 2/26/2007, Vol. 37 Issue 9, p8-12, 3p, 1 chart, 1 graph. Health care in the United States. (2007). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 29, 2010 from .wikipedia.org CMS office of Public Affairs (2005). Healthcare spending in the United States slows for the first time in seven years. Retrieved October 29, 2010 from www.cms.hhs.gov HJ, Aaron (2003). Should public policy seek to control the growth of healthcare spending' Health Aff (Millwood). Jan-Jun; Suppl Web Exclusives: W3-28-36. Retrieved October30, 2010 from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Gardner, Lynn (n.d.). Healthcare in America. Retrieved online on the 4th of May, 2007 at www.albany.edu RT, Luke (2001). Healthcare in the United States- current and future challenges. Retrieved October30, 2010 from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Whitehouse.gov (2006). Reforming Healthcare for the 21st Century. Retrieved October 30, 2010 from www.whitehouse.gov ----------------------- 2 Health Care Spending