Controversy surrounds health care. Daily, news reports on television, in newspapers, and the Internet discuss the rising cost of healthcare in the United States. The delivery and utilization of healthcare is a complex process. James and Stokes (2006) indicate “the process of healthcare includes diagnosis, treatment, prevention, rehabilitation and palliative care” (p. 1). Multiple entities help deliver healthcare - physicians, nurses, therapists, hospitals, insurance providers, government agencies, and commercial companies…
The purpose of this paper is to review and discuss the current level of national healthcare expenditures and to determine if we as Americans are spending too much on healthcare. The author of this paper will provide examples and solutions where we as a nation should add or cut from the healthcare expenditures. This paper will also detail how the general public's healthcare needs are being paid for, the biggest economic healthcare challenge, why the challenge should be addressed, and how this challenge to be financed.…
The documentary, Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare, criticizes the current healthcare system designed for profit maximization, a physician’s dilemma between financial incentives and professionalism, and quick fixes rather than prevention of illness. The U.S. government spends $2.7 trillion annually on healthcare, and pharmaceutical drugs account for $300 billion, almost as much as the rest of the world combined (Escape Fire). The mindset that drugs are the only appropriate way to treat disease is invalid. Physician salaries are driven by the number of treatments and drugs that are prescribed and administered. The U.S. healthcare system is a business model where economic…
With new technology, new trends, current technology, and trends frequently changing, health care has evolved processes for health policies to continuously being added, reassessed, changed, and considered in order to help improve the United States health care system. There are several phases and transitions new ideas go through before it can be implemented into policy. In health care, every health facility plus more feels when there are changes in health related issues and policies, especially patients. This country needs well-informed, attentive, publically cognizant health care leaders and staff comprehensive of health…
This is just one casualty of America's war with itself over Health care. As of this writing, American's health care system is a mess. Millions of American's currently live without health insurance, doctors seemed to be swamped with bureaucracy, and health care costs throughout the nation are skyrocketing out of control.…
Finding the Money for Healthcare Reform, written by Mark Hyman, M.D. (Hyman, 2009), provides a realistic perspective that the current healthcare reform model only focuses on lowering the cost for healthcare services and not improving the quality of health for patients. Hyman (2009) argues that if quality of health and lifestyle intervention are key focal points of healthcare reform, the burden of healthcare expense would automatically be lowered due to less chronic illness and better health outcomes (Hyman, 2009). “By improving the quality of our health and focusing on health creation and improved health outcomes, the sinking ship of healthcare can be righted, and the behaviors of physicians and healthcare institutions will shift from doing more things (volume) to doing the right things (quality)” (Hyman, 2009, p. 20).…
Felicia, thanks for your post, I reviewed your study on Medicaid and it saddens me to hear that this this the worst health care insurance to have because Today the majority of the population is on Mediciad. “Medicaid serves as the nation’s primary source of health insurance coverage for low-income populations” (CMS. gov., 2015). This places the low income families at a disadvantage for quality care. (Political Irony, 2014). Would ACO’s be able to provide quality managed care for this group? If so I would say we have to evaluate its benefits and it outcomes. This can be good for health care reform.…
Reading this article, I was at first confused as to what the author was complaining about. As I kept reading I began to understand that the author was angry with the people who opposed the governments healthcare plan or as he called it, “Obamacare”. The author kept on giving examples of opponents who would just twist the information about the healthcare reform to make it seem like it was a bad thing and one that would scare Americans from wanting the government to provide healthcare. The author said opponents would keep using scare tactics and misinformation to mislead the public. One point that I thought was his strongest about how the people against Obamacare would manipulate the information was when gave the example of the British healthcare. He cited how opponents said Britain’s government chose who was worthy of treatment and who was not. But the opponents got the information wrong because the government doesn’t decide anything. It just stops people from paying for treatments and surgeries that have no proof of working. They simply don’t want people wasting money on unnecessary treatments so the money is saved for things worth getting. I thought this was a great point in that he showed how people who misinterpret information can make something that is working to the…
Because our nation’s healthcare system has spun out of control, we need healthcare reform now. Every American should have access to affordable, quality healthcare, and to be able to make our own life and death decisions and not by insurance companies.…
The issue of mandating healthcare has been a hot topic for many years in the US government. Even though there is no mention of the right to healthcare in the United States Constitution. Some speculate that it is implied under the 14th Amendment, which states in the first section that no state shall deprive any citizen of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Some argue that the government is violating the 14th Amendment by not making healthcare available to people who are under the poverty line. Some argue that healthcare is a right to citizens.…
A majority of the American public does not have health insurance which ultimately limits their access to healthcare. Thus this topic has been not only a public concern but has also dominated public debate and thus politics. Many seek reforms within the health care industry yet no politician has been able to tackle this issue and provide coverage to the masses. So when health care became a forerunner in the political dialogue many actively promoted or opposed same. Supporters sought true health care reform eventually seeking affordable health care options for the masses while those that opposed argued that it would deplete either the government or the small businesses. What does the Health Care Reform Act mean to…
Topic: Health Reform - Affordability of Private Health Insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).…
The structure of the U.S heath care system is certainly a topic greatly debated. Whether it is discussing the cost of health care, poor outcomes, shortages in health care workers, underutilization of other health care workers, the lack of access to care, or growing demand by consumers for health care that offers choice, quality, convenience, affordability and personalized care. It is not a secret that the United States spends more money than any other nation on health care, but only ranks 34th in the world in life expectancy and has higher mortality rates in infants than any other nation that is developed.…
While so many Americans are focusing on the health care reform and what impact it will have on their insurance coverage, a number of positive health provisions are included within the bill itself. Obesity prevention and treatment is one of the important and positive provisions being addressed.…
Walter Cronkite, once said “America’s health care system is neither healthy, caring, nor a system.” In a time where emergency rooms are flooded with preventable illnesses and waiting lists for doctor visits expand into months, Cronkite’s quote certainly holds true.…