...Health Spending and its Effects on Future Health Care Managers The United States spends more on healthcare than then any other country in the world. In 2012 the United States spent an average of $8,915 per person on health care, totaling $2.8 trillion. Unfortunately, spending will continue to trend upwards due to a number of key factors. According to Kaiser Health News staff writer, Mary Carey, “national health spending will increase modestly over the next decade as a result of an aging population, a recovering economy, and the health law’s expanded insurance coverage”(Carey, 2014) As baby boomers continue to age and the Affordable Care Act changes the health insurance market, “employment of medical and health services managers is projected to grow 23 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). This paper will focus on national health spending of the United States and the positive and negative effects it has on future health care managers. The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates health spending grew in 2013 by 3.6 percent marking the “fifth year of historically low rates of spending growth” (Sisko et al, 2014). However, it is “forecasted to rise to 5.6 percent in 2014 due to the combined effects of the expansion of coverage from the Affordable Care Act, faster economic growth, and growing age of the population” (Sisko et al, 2014). During the next decade economic growth is projected...
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...Health Care Reform: the Macro Perspective Andrew Ojo HCS/550 December 16, 2013 Connie Melton Health Care Reform, the Macro Perspective Often a time individuals living in America wonders how the health care system could change for the better. One problem that has constantly troubled the minds of consumers have been the subject of health care cost and restrictions invoked by health care coverage providers. At the moment, most of the American people need quality health care services resulting mainly from lack of health care coverage. Here in the United States health care policy and health care service has become controversial domestic issue. Most Americans have this believe that there is a strain on their budgets resulting from how much they have to pay for health care, even employers are complaining that they pay too much as share of cost for employees (Shader, 2013). According to William (2009), the U. S spend a huge portion of its gross national product mainly on health care as compared to other countries. U.S Chamber of Commerce (2013), “The United States spends $2.7 trillion a year on healthcare, and in 2011, the government was on the hook for $38.6 trillion in unfunded liabilities for Medicare”. At present, the United States has relatively poor outcomes in the state health for her citizens to show for the expenditures. In a bid, to find a lasting solution to this concerns, the legislative arms in conjunction with government heads enacted a series of laws in recent...
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...Abstract The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed and passed by congress and then signed into law by the President on March 23, 2010. Overall, the law will lower healthcare costs and provide an increased access to healthcare to all Americans. The Congressional Budget Office’s article in comparison with the Deloitte 2012 Survey of the U.S. Health Care Consumers: The performance of the health care system and health care reform article both illustrate the changes occurring in healthcare and the results of health behavior towards the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The evidence is shown through the Congressional Budget Office article detailing the financial objectives taking place for consumers and employers. It also displays the number of people obtaining employment-based health insurance. The Deloitte 2012 Survey highlights data from consumers’ perceptions of the health care system and their thoughts on health care reform. Many health policy experts and economists have challenged the health care industry’s view of consumerism; they reason that costs would be lower, service better, and improved quality. Based on the results of the survey, consumers stated that there is a widening gap between their unmet needs and the system’s performance. The surveys also indicate adults being queried in varied health status, income, and insurance cohorts to gauge the degree to which consumers are prepared to engage the health care system as “patients” or “consumers”. Introduction This article pertains...
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...that have to do with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Healthcare Reform (HR). There are many reason why the ACA and HR effects the pocketbooks of hard working Americans. Many people think that all businesses large and small have to provide health insurances for all employees, which is not a hundred percent accurate. Large business are considered to have over hundred employees and small business are to have under a hundred employees. How the reforms effect the big businesses and small businesses can be different in how much the employer pays and how much the employee pays. There is actual penalties that business will be held accountable if they don’t abide by the strict rules set forth. The effects are felt at all levels of income based, the effects are felt more by middle and upper class income with many of these family’s having to pay more for premiums to the lower class income families can’t afford insurance. Large Businesses Most employers have had some sort of the ACA and HR that has effected them financially, many have felt this financially through first of all the penalties they have acquired by not following the health care laws by not either providing the health care at all or not providing the correct level of health care for their employees. The penalties can range from $2000-$3000 just depending on the reason for the company being penalized. The Mandate Penalty ($2,000) applies if an employer does not offer group health coverage, The Qualification Penalty...
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...Health Reform, American Style by Hobson Carroll Today’s health care financing mess requires an American fix. We need a rational solution that recognizes where we have come from in paying and providing for health care in this country, as well as our government, history, culture, economic system and all the other things that define us as a nation. The entire world is struggling with health care financing. Solutions need to be locally relevant, and the United States is no exception. My proposal for reforming core elements in the health care system follows. Everyone Is Charged The Same Amount Currently, the same service from the same provider costs different parties different amounts depending on who is paying. This is patently ridiculous for something society has effectively stated is a right, or at least a social utility. We must require all-payer, transparent pricing from providers for their products and services. Each provider is free to set prices as they deem appropriate, but those prices must be the same to all purchasers. I am referring to a price that represents the true, bottom- line net charge that the provider bills and collects. Payers won’t be able to negotiate with providers for special discounts or pricing concessions for any reason. If a provider agrees to a particular schedule of fees or prices with a given payer, fine. But it then applies to every other payer as well. This doesn’t mean that insurance benefits must cover whatever the provider charges. Schedules...
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...Positive Outcomes There have been many positive outcomes since the Affordable Care Act went into effect. The one goal of getting health coverage for more Americans has been accomplished by making it more affordable and making health insurance more available. There has been a decline of individuals who have postponed getting medical care due to the cost by one-third. Due to the Medicaid expansion, there has been a decline in collection balances with people who became insured by six to ten hundred dollars (Stoltzfus Jost & Pollack, 2016). Also, there has been an increase in preventative care. More importantly, there have been more services available for the consumer to include coverage for medications, lab tests, dental and vision care for...
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...Bajwa Microeconomics May 10, 2010 Health Care Reforms: What They Mean to Me and the United States Can anyone accurately predict the outcome of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010? At this point it is all just speculation. The Federal Government, mainly the Democrats and the Department of Health and Human Services, paints one idealistic picture of the reform. The Federal Government envisions healthcare for all Americans at minimal expense to the consumer. The funding for this would come from a mixture of sources, including taxes on “rich” people, a new tax on expensive insurance, fees on healthcare industries, a tanning tax, and cuts on Medicare spending. Insurance companies are required to be more efficient and the increased competition should also decrease the cost of insurances policies. In theory, this all sounds great and would benefit me, my family, and other Americans with preexisting conditions but the critics are skeptical that all will go as planned. The Republicans and big business are predicting the worst outcomes of the new law. Even the Chief Actuary of the Medicare Program has now made some dire predictions on the actuality of the law, including an increase in spending. Critics predict that businesses may cut employee healthcare and pay the lower cost penalties instead. The cuts to Medicare Part A may put hospitals in debt and threaten access to care for seniors. The system may be...
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...Brian Ardizzoni Michael Neil English 1301, Composition 1 25 November 2012 Medical Malpractice For nearly forty years, tort reform constantly becomes an increasingly controversial issue affecting the medical community, the legal community and most of all, the victims of some very unfortunate accidents. Tort reform refers to laws passed on a state-by-state basis which place limits or caps on the type or amount of damages awarded in personal injury lawsuits. Those who advocate medical malpractice tort reform believe limitations should be set on the amount of damages a plaintiff or injured party can be rewarded by the court. These advocates usually include medical professionals and insurance companies. Their argument is that too many frivolous lawsuits lead to high malpractice insurance, the increasing cost of medical care and a burden on the taxpayers whose tax dollars absorb the extravagant litigation costs for these claims. They believe doctors will eventually be unable to practice medicine due to costly malpractice insurance premiums which may leave many Americans unable to obtain much-needed healthcare. In the past, as the rate of malpractice suits began to grow, so did the rate of malpractice insurance. This ended up having a dire impact on the medical profession. For one thing, many qualified doctors ended up leaving their practices and focusing more on preventative medicine. In other words, they...
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...The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expands access to coverage to millions of Americans, a goal health plans have long supported, but major provisions will raise costs and disrupt coverage for individuals, families, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. The broad market reforms outlined in the ACA take effect on January 1, 2014. Individuals and families purchasing insurance in the individual market will be guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions, and their premiums cannot vary based on their gender or medical history. There will also be subsidies to help consumers afford the cost of coverage, and new health insurance exchanges will help consumers find the policies that best meet their needs. At the same time, other provisions take effect that will significantly increase the cost of coverage, such as the health insurance tax, minimum essential benefits, and restrictions on age rating. $52 billion in new taxes will be imposed on businesses by mandating that employers provide health insurance. New taxes on drug companies ($27 billion) and medical device makers ($20 billion), as well as new reporting requirements and regulations imposed on physicians, will make access to health care and services more costly and difficult for seniors under Obamacare.The cumulative impact of all of these provisions increases the likelihood that some individuals will choose to purchase insurance only after they become sick or injured, further increasing the cost of coverage for everyone...
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...Significant Health Care Event University of Phoenix HCS/531 Martha Owen 1/28/13 Significant Health Care Event Health care has been influenced by numerous significant events throughout history. These events have helped change and shape health care in efforts to improve it, and to fit in with the current needs of the population. Some of the influences include society, culture, finance, religion, politics, technology, health trends, the environment, and population (Shi & Singh, 2012, p. 9). This paper will discuss a significant event that has changed or affected health care today, explain how the historical evolution of health care was impacted, and assess the significant event based on personal values and beliefs. Significant Event’s Relation to Health Care Excessive litigation is one of the significant events affecting health care today. Litigation has become so popular that it has become specialized. Advertisements for litigations against health care facilities and professionals are placed on television, radios, Internet, and other information outlets, at frequent intervals. It is not unexpected to see or hear several of them throughout the day. Law firms have become specialized in trying health care related cases and focus on specific conditions. The result is that health care facilities close because of the financial burden of payments resulting from litigations, the amount paid for malpractice insurance rises, insurance premiums rise, and costs of health care increases...
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...The U.S. health care system is the subject of much differentiating debates. On one side we have those who argue that Americans have the “best health care system in the world”, pointing to our freely available medical technology and state-of-the-art facilities that have become so highly symbolic of its system. On the hand we have those who criticize the American system as being fragmented and inefficient, pointing to the fact that America spends more on health care than any other country in the world yet still suffers from massive un-insurance, uneven quality, and administrative waste. Understanding the debate between these two diametrically opposed viewpoints requires a basic understanding of the structure of the U.S. health care system. This paper will explain the organization and financing of the system, as well as explain the U.S. health care system in a greater perspective. For most people, the frightening prospect of being unemployed, losing health insurance coverage, having inadequate insurance benefits, or living in a rural community without a physician raises one vital access-related question: Will I be able to get the care I need if I become seriously ill? Because of health care's special status, society has an ethical obligation to ensure that all people have access to an adequate level of health care including access to new technologies as well as existing ones, without facing excessive burdens in obtaining such care. Society's recognition and implementation of...
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...The Affordable Care Act at 5 Years Mary Beth Hamel, M.D., M.P.H., Editor Authored by David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P, Melinda Abrams, M.S., and Rachel Nuzum, M.P.H. Published 2015, The New England Journal of Medicine Laurie Bailey Reinhardt University Healthcare Law, Regulations, and Ethics Spring 2016 Journal Review Abstract The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been one of the most controversial pieces of social legislation enacted in recent history. We know the law has had a considerable impact on the availability of health insurance. In addition to its expansion and reform of health insurance coverage, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) contains numerous provisions intended to resolve underlying problems in containing health care costs and improving the quality of care for Americans. These provisions focus on three broad areas: testing new delivery models and spreading successful ones, encouraging the shift toward payment based on the value of care provided, and ensuring protection against illness and the ability to receive care. While it is still far too early to offer any kind of definitive assessment of the law’s reforms since some of the provisions did not take effect until much later after its passage, it is clear that the ACA has changed healthcare in the U.S. and is promoting providers to improve the value obtained for our health care dollars. In 2010, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable...
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...and losers. This essay will examine the effect of the Industrial Revolution on the position of the middle class. The difference in income was significant even within what was considered middle-class as the concept of middle class was so vast. The middle class compromised of professionals, merchants, craftsmen, overseers, factory managers, lawyers, doctors and alike in the nineteenth century. The Industrial Revolution brought with it a general rise in living conditions throughout Europe. This was possibly one of the greatest of the benefits the middle classes enjoyed from the Industrial Revolution. Demand rose and new industries emerged stimulating the economy, resulting in more jobs being available and more wealth in general. The economical boost of the Industrial Revolution mainly benefitted the middle classes. The middle class generally amassed more wealth and attained more buying power; this had a straight effect on their livelihood and can be seen especially in housing. For example in London many middle-class families could afford to buy their own terraced home with two or three bedrooms. The housing enjoyed by the middle class was luxurious as opposed to the one of the working class, as working class homes which were relatively small, built tightly next to another and in most cases had no running water and had communal bathrooms. The middle class in London could also often afford one servant, usually a nanny to take care of their children. This was a luxury many...
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...Healthcare Spending Heather Satterfield HCS/440 July 19, 2012 Osama Metry Healthcare Spending Healthcare spending involves researching trends of expenditures at a national level as well as researching the effects of the economy. It is important to take into account what best benefits the healthcare system. It is important to discuss how healthcare needs are financed and the immediate attention needed for the future of healthcare. In the current economy the cost of healthcare has risen and wages have decreased. In order for an employer to provide insurance for employees it is necessary for premiums to go up because the insurance companies have doubled the cost for the employer. Over the last ten years the percentage of one’s income that is paid for insurance rose from 12 percent to 22 percent. The reason for this rise is due to private payers’ compensation rising from 5.4 percent to 7.3 percent. This caused the employees’ salaries to go down. Due to this, small business were on a fast pace to going under. In order for the small businesses to stay above water it was necessary to cut insurance coverage from 65 percent to 59 percent. The Affordable Care Act was developed for relief on the premiums. In addition it protected Americans that were uninsured or had preexisting conditions. It was once thought to be impossible to receive healthcare benefits if one had a preexisting condition. In the year of 2014 it is thought that insurance costs will decrease....
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...improving Quality and Value in the U.S. Health Care System August 2009 Preamble The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a public policy advocacy organization founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell. Its mission is to develop and promote solutions that can attract the public support and political momentum to achieve real progress. The BPC acts as an incubator for policy efforts that engage top political figures, advocates, academics, and business leaders in the art of principled compromise. This report is part of a series commissioned by the BPC to advance the substantive work of the Leaders’ Project on the State of American Health Care. It is intended to explore policy trade-offs and analyze the major decisions involved in improving health care delivery, and discuss them in the broader context of health reform. It does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Senators Baker, Daschle, and Dole or the BPC’s Board of Directors. The Leaders’ Project was launched in March 2008. Co-Directed by Mark B. McClellan and Chris Jennings, its mission is (1) to create a bipartisan plan for health reform that can be used to transform the U.S. health care system, and (2) to demonstrate that health reform is an achievable political reality. Over the course of the project, Senators Baker, Daschle, and Dole hosted public policy forums across the country, and orchestrated a targeted outreach campaign to...
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