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Financing Health Care in the Us

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Financing Health Care in the U.S.
Tim Johnson
HCCUniversity
NURS 3006 Section 02, The Context of Healthcare Delivery
Nov 24, 2013

Financing Health Care in the U.S.
Financing healthcare in the U. S. continues to be a major concern, and going forward it could become a monsoon. There are many methods available to finance healthcare in this country, and some people have access to several methods. However, a large percentage does not have access to any methods, and as a result they are uninsured. Among the methods used to finance healthcare are private insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid.
We will discuss Medicare, and some of the issues the federal government is facing with rising health care cost. Money and how to pay for things are always at the forefront of the problems. Unlike other healthcare funding issues Medicaid is funded totally by the federal government. Private insurance is funded by employers, employees and private citizens. Medicaid is funded 2/3 by the federal government and 1/3 by the state government. Medicare is currently funded by tax payers and the federal income tax. The population is getting older, and many baby boomers are nearing 65 years of age and will be eligible for Medicare. If the current trend continues many experts believe the system will be bankrupt within 10 years. As a result, the government will have to increase the federal income tax, or find a way to reduce cost. One of the main issues is that curtailing cost normally means curtailing service and benefits.
As services and benefits are reduced it has a drastic impact on healthcare. As a result of the population getting older they need more preventive healthcare services, but a reduction in cost impacts services that are covered. When preventive healthcare is reduced it leads to more serious illnesses, and places a burden on the nursing profession. If routine

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