Health Care Reform Paper

Abstract

Healthcare has been a hot topic during this year’s presidential campaign and no matter who wins the election, the United States healthcare industry will be reformed or should we say transformed. The healthcare industry in the United States has been under sever scrutiny and is feeling the effects of government regulations on many fronts. Margins are low and the need to control cost is critical. This paper will give an overview of the multiple facets that comprise the healthcare industry and how their role has contributed to the US national health expenditure totaling 2.5 trillion dollars in 2009 (National Health Expenditure Data, 2009). The paper will also provide financial insight contributing to the current crisis that the
This advancement coupled with physicians utilizing hospitals increased physician / hospital charges; these cost were past off to the consumer which just became worse with the start of the great depression. In an effort to assist in the healthcare needs during the depression Baylor Hospital in Dallas created a system that would revolutionize the market for health insurance (Carlstrom, 2009). The plan shortly became known as Blue Cross, this plan was specifically designed as a pre-paid plan for hospital services. Shortly thereafter Blue Shield was created for physician services. With the success of Blue Cross and Blue Shield more consumers were willing to participate which led other private insurance companies to enter the market, it was obvious competition was inevitable. The government also offered tax breaks to employers who provided healthcare to their employees. The Blues were doing so well but they changed how they did business based on the private companies raising premium rates based on age, gender, health status and pre-existing conditions. These behaviors led the Blues to change their one flat rate premium for all insured’s
The American healthcare system of today faces many issues and problems. The growing population of elderly and high rate of unemployment has left many Americans without any type of healthcare at all. To reform healthcare that has to first the infrastructure established that is sustainable for doctors, suitable for members, and costly enough to be sponsored. Hospitals are bulking up into huge systems, merging with one another and building extensive new doctor work forces. They are exploring insurance-like setups, including direct approaches to employers that cut out the health-plan middleman. WSJ 's Anna Mathews joins the News Hub to discuss the changing face of health care in the U.S. as a result of pressure to cut costs. AP Photo. On the other side, insurers are buying health-care providers, or seeking to work with them on new cooperative deals and payment models that share the risks of health coverage. And employers are starting to take a far more active role in their workers ' care. (Wilde-Matthews, 2011) This new and innovative plan does seem to be valid and more cost-efficient. The main issue with current health care plan and especially government mandated health care plan are the doctor’s reimbursement rates for procedures. Doctors argue that current reimbursement rates are too low, causes them to lose money, and force sub-par healthcare to members. Many argue