...unemployment, the federal budget deficit, immigration, gun control, etc, seem to create never ending discussions without any resolution. The healthcare system is one of the many issues that have been affected by the economic crisis and according to president Barrack Obama, reform is a must. Besides all economic factors affecting the healthcare system, the system has been blamed for inefficiency, excessive administrative expenses, inappropriate waste, and fraud and abuse. Many Americans today are having trouble keeping up with the continue rise of healthcare costs and many firms cannot afford to provide coverage to their employees. Although the government is working on a reform for the healthcare system, many questions are still pending to be answered. One question that has raised polemic discussions around the country is: should the U.S. government provide healthcare to all citizens? While many feel there should be a simple yes or no to this questions, many others realize that we do have to consider any potential ethical, moral or legal issues that can cause collateral damage to our economy and also the healthcare system. President Obama has been focusing on a reform for the healthcare system prior to his first election and to give a little overview of his reform, according to The White House (2013), see table below: Overview of Health Reform “It makes insurance more affordable by providing the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history, reducing premium costs for...
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...“Impact of the Health Care Reform on Social Insurance versus Private Insurance” Introduction: Health care cost in the United States continues to spiral out of control. It has become a national crisis for the Unites States government to solve. Medicare, a government health care national program funded by taxpayers is no longer a sufficient funding pool to support the elderly and retirees. In 2012, Medicare program has a growth deficit spending, which totaled $492 billion and expected to hit $895 billion in 2022. Medicare reform was a signature discussion amongst last year presidential candidates. Now we once again asked ourselves the question will healthcare reform work this time? More importantly, should the US government reform existing health care into a social healthcare program, similar to our neighboring country, Canada? Or whether the US government should continue supporting the health care hybrid model: public health care and private health care. Under the public health care, the government continues to subsidies healthcare coverage through Medicare program to the elderly and the retirees. Under the private health care, private corporations continue with employer-based insurance program to provide coverage for the working population? As we know it today the costs of health care continue to soar and the costs are not uniform across the population. With the increasing prevalence of chronic illness amongst the aging population, about 30 percent of the population...
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...Health is wealth and as much as the latter is important to everyone, its significance and priority in each individual varies. In the United States there are two systems that cater to the healthcare needs of its citizenry and legal aliens alike who are residents. According to Wexler, the United States healthcare system is being looked to as a model by other countries because of the systems and coverage that the citizens enjoy (Wexler, 2011). However, there are flaws to the system as there is no perfect system to satisfy the society. Forces Affecting the Healthcare System Rising Cost of Healthcare. The shortcomings of the health care in the United States have become a significant moral issue. Being the only industrialized country that does not provide a universal health care, its citizens are left unattended. Other nations in the world have made health care as a basic right while the US consider it as a privilege and only accessible to those who can afford it. With this insight, everyone sees health care in the US as a commodity and not as a social service. Pohl writes that the uninsured Americans now number in tens of millions where most of them are those who are working hard to make ends meet (Pohl, 2002). Even with their employment (blue collar jobs, mostly), they still cannot access insurance because their employers do not provide them because of the high cost or these individuals are not eligible at all. Medicare/Medicaid. One of the biggest differences is Medicaid...
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...Quality in Health Care Shanna Marie Fulwood HCA 305 Tessa Guisinger September 17, 2012 Healthcare has become a major issue within recent years. “In spite of its long history and common years the US healthcare system has a complex puzzle to many Americans” (Sultz and Young, 2010, pg XVII). Obama has tried recently to provide access to every individuals they can have some kind of medical care. His new healthcare bill says that everyone has to have medical insurance. This was done because so many Americans are without health care coverage. Now that is mandated we have healthcare coverage what our options? One of the major concerns that we face and always have faced is the quality of care we received. Anyone deserves quality out of the healthcare system. Fortunately there are ways to measure healthcare quality. These tools are mostly used by the professionals. Some questions that will be answered here are how does the quality of healthcare in the United States compared to the quality of care and other industrialized nations; how can an acceptable quality of healthcare be assured for all; will providing data in areas such as patient outcomes, compliance with national standards for preventive and chronic care, and comparative cost to the public be an acceptable measure of healthcare delivery outcomes; the physicians believe that only physicians could and should judge the quality of medical care, they found participation in such hospital peer review activities and most disagreeable...
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...Population and Healthcare Coverage…………………………………………………………… Population………………………………………………………………………………………….. Causes of death…………………………………………………………………………………….. Healthcare Status…………………………………………………………………………………... Health Services Available………………………………………………………………………… Insurance…………………………………………………………………………………………… Services…………………………………………………………………………………………….. Organization of Healthcare………………………………………………………………………… Quality of Healthcare…………………………………………………………………………….. Standards…………………………………………………………………………………………… Healthcare Received……………………………………………………………………………….. Comparison of Russia and U.S…………………………………………………………………….. Expenditures………………………………………………………………………………………. Revenue……………………………………………………………………………………………. Governments role…………………………………………………………………………………... Environmental Influences………………………………………………………………………... Political impact/involvement………………………………………………………………………. Economic influences……………………………………………………………………………….. Cultural impact……………………………………………………………………………………... Comparison……………………………………………………………………………………….. Russia vs U.S………………………………………………………………………………………. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………. Executive Summary Russia has a much lower patient satisfaction revolving around healthcare. This is due to out dated hospitals and clinics that have partial or no running water, out dated technology which creates disorganization when needing tests done. The population of Russia is about 143 million people so far, and it’s increasing every year. The healthcare of Russia...
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...Cyndie Miculan Healthcare Reform and Utilization The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) has prompted considerable debate. While some believe that the Act will eventually serve as a foundation for the destruction of the healthcare system, others believe that the Act does not provide enough coverage to truly reform the system. In an effort to better understand the implications of reform to the healthcare system the current investigation considers how the PPACA has impacted access to care, how these issues may change care utilization, the concept of universal healthcare, the stakeholders involved in universal healthcare, and the roles emerging in the healthcare industry as a result of reform. Issues of Concern Reform and Access to Care The passage of the PPACA has been viewed by many as a boon to expanding patient access to care. In addition to the fact that the legislation ended the ban on pre-existing conditions—requiring healthcare companies to offer coverage regardless of the patient’s health—the legislation also mandated that all citizens have health insurance. Even though the individual insurance mandate has been highly contested it has provided a means for delivering healthcare coverage to more individuals than at any time in recent history. However, providing near-universal healthcare coverage has had some caveats. In particular, there is growing concern that the large number of patients entering the healthcare system—a projected 32 million—will...
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...23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. There is no denying that Healthcare reform is a necessity at this point. Something absolutely has to change in America’s Healthcare. “It seems clear that if we continue down the path of healthcare delivery we current practice in this country, even if it is practiced a bit more efficiently, we will have failed. We will bankrupt this country, and the health of our citizens will continue to decline” (Riley, 2009). The question remains however, is the Affordable Care Act the answer to our crisis? The intentions of the ACA are honorable. Creators plan to reform healthcare by attacking several areas with issues. Main focus of goals include Universality – The right of every citizen to have healthcare. All citizens should be in a common risk pool. Financing – intent to reform based on spreading the cost of healthcare out equally. The common risk pool comes largely into play here because the young and healthy will subsidize some of the care needed by the sick and elderly. Cost – Reduction – Stabilizing the cost of healthcare and reducing the rate of growth Payment Reform – paying for outcomes and values achieved, rather than the volume of care given. Quality and process improvement - Components that will improve reporting and quality indicators of care. Prevention and Wellness - goal to reduce the cost of healthcare by promoting healthy living, therefore, less need for medical care. (Panning, 2014). In some...
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...Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3 The History of Healthcare Reform……………………………………………………………………………..…4 The Problem with the ACA……………………………………………………………………………………………6 The Current Policy………………………………………………………………………………………………………..8 Policy Alternatives………………………………………………………………………………………………………10 Evaluation Criteria………………………………………………………………………………………………………10 Policy Recommendation……………………………………………………………………………………………..12 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..13 References………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….14 Introduction Recent health care reform legislation, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Education Reconciliation Act, which is now being referred to simply as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. Since the 20th century, several United States presidents have faced challenges in passing national health reform into law. Before the ACA was enacted, national health reform proposals under different governments in the United States faced strong opposition from various stakeholders and multiple interest groups. Therefore, the enactment of the ACA is revolutionary healthcare reform in the history of the United States. Healthcare insurance is a program that assists in paying medical expenses through privately purchased insurance or social welfare programs. In other words, health insurance is a system that provides protection against health costs. This newly legislated healthcare reform offers health insurance for all...
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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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...Germany's Healthcare System: An Overview Bradley Webster American Sentinel Professor Kehm Germany's Healthcare System: An Overview Germany has long been regarded has having a very efficient and cost effective healthcare system. In this essay several aspects of this system will be evaluated from what works well to what doesn’t. Despite Germany’s highly functional healthcare system they too are going to have to face the challenges that every other developed country is facing: a growing elder population and the ever increasing costs of healthcare in conjunction with a waning economy. Alarming statistics, such as the following, will demand Germanys attention as well as the vast majority of developed counties with questionably sustainable health care systems. Populations in developed nations have been rapidly aging for several years at a rate that will only increase before achieving equilibrium between 2050 and 2060. Most developing countries outside of Africa also will experience a rapid growth in older populations over the next forty years and by 2030, these countries will contain 70 percent or more of the world's population that is ages 60 and older (Polivka & Baozhen, 2013, p. 39). Germany’s Type of Healthcare System The German social health insurance (SHI) system is an internationally prominent health care system primarily funded by payroll contributions shared by employers and employees and managed by nonprofit sickness funds. Whereas, like the United...
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...The Need for Health Care Reform HCA 410 Professor Henry O’Lawrence December 8, 2011 The Need For Health Care Reform Health care system is now faced with many problems such as high cost of insurance, high cost of medical services, significant numbers of people lack any form of healthcare insurance, and many more people are underinsured. Heath care is not affordable and easy to obtain anymore. With the rising of health care cost, reforms are needed to be more affordable with high quality and efficiency. There are over “46 million people lacking health insurance, but also for those who have insurance the economic downturn is a chilling reminder that under current system, virtually anyone facing a run of bad luck could be quickly wiped out by medical bill collectors”. State Healy, Bernadine M.D. (2009). Providing health insurance for people uninsured and low-cost insurance are major problems need to consider and take it seriously. The number of people uninsured is too high. There are many factors leading to be uninsured including poverty, the economic downturn leading to high rated of unemployment and some working families who cannot afford coverage because too expensive, besides, earn too much to be eligible for many programs which the state's healthcare provider. Offering the healthcare options with advantages for the uninsured with affordable price is needed to take to consideration. Many low income people cannot afford health insurance usually don’t go seek for medical...
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...Medical Malpractice Tort Reform in the Healthcare Industry Medical malpractice reform, also known as tort reform, includes strategies to limit medical malpractice costs, deter medical errors and ensure that patients who are injured by medical negligence are fairly compensated. Tort reform has the potential to reduce health care expenditures by reducing the number of malpractice claims, the average size of malpractice awards and tort liability system administrative costs (Medical Malpractice Reform, 2011). Since the 1970s, medical malpractice has been a controversial social issue, which has caused physicians to have increasing concerns about the large number of lawsuits and the negative connotations that tend to go along with them. Physicians have started pushing for legal reforms to decrease the large monetary awards for damages whereas tort attorneys have argued that the negligence suits are an effective way of compensating the victims fairly and forcing the medical professions to follow a proper standard of care (Pozgar, 2013). An article from the Journal of Patient Safety estimates that between 210,000 to 400,000 people die every year in the U.S. from hospital medical errors and 1 in 14 U.S. doctors face a malpractice lawsuit every year (Corapi, 2014). Physicians and healthcare providers argue that the millions of dollars that are awarded in damages increase the cost of healthcare by passing this cost onto the consumer in the form of higher insurance premiums and...
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...Health Reforms in India Name Institution Date Health Reforms in India Introduction Reforms describe positive changes that are effected in a system or practice, typically with regard to political, social or economic aspects, with a view to realizing better outcomes from the system, process or institution. Reforms in different sectors within a region or state are geared towards improving efficiency in the process. Successful implementation of reforms results in improvement in the process outcomes. For example, when a country implements reforms within its justice system, improvements could be witnessed through an easier processing and completion of cases and better treatment of suspects and convicts. One of the areas which have seen reforms in various countries of the world is healthcare. Perhaps as a result of increasing appreciation of the value of a healthy population in socio-economic and political development, coupled with an ever increasing threat to human health, authorities in different countries, including the US and India are implementing a wide range of health reforms. In India, in particular, the government is undertaking reforms with a view to improving the access to quality healthcare for the citizens. This paper discusses health reforms in India, with a focus on the specific aspects of the reforms, and the extent to which it has improved healthcare delivery in the Asian country. The paper also provides a few recommendations on...
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...How Does Cost Affect the HealthCare Delivery System? An In-Depth Look at the Health Care Delivery System and Cost. | | Princess L. Brigham | 11/23/2010 | HSA 6414: Social Dimensions and Issues in Health Care | ABSTRACT How does cost affect the health care delivery system? This research focuses on the cost of the health care delivery system and how it affects today’s society. High costs, gap-ridden coverage, and sporadic quality are the health care problems that most concern Americans. Yet most of the policy discussion is focused on the issue of coverage. Health care is expensive because of the pervasive entitlement attitude held by literally everyone in the system: patients, providers, suppliers, insurers. Government insurance (Medicare, Medicaid, veterans, Department of Defense) covers 87 million; tax breaks subsidize 176 million in employer coverage; insurers and other third-party payers take care of the bills for 85 percent of Americans. There is little awareness of the full cost or value of medical treatment on the part of consumers or providers, and little opportunity for individuals to choose their own coverage or make informed decisions with their doctors about treatment. Health care costs are far higher in the United States than in any other advanced nation, whether measured in total dollars spent, as a percentage of the economy, or on a per capita basis. And health costs here have been rising significantly faster than the overall economy or personal incomes...
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...United States Main article: Health care reform in the United States Health care reform in the United States Healthcare reform in the US Debate over reform History Latest enacted legislation Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Senate bill - H.R. 3590) Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872) preceding legislation Social Security Amendments of 1965 Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (1986) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (1996) Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (2003) Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (2005) [show] More information -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This box: view· talk· edit See also: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Maximum Out-of-Pocket Premium as Percentage of Family Income (Source: CRS) In the United States, the debate regarding healthcare reform includes questions of a right to health care, access, fairness, sustainability, quality and amounts spent by government. The mixed public-private health care system in the United States is the most expensive in the world, with health care costing more per person than in any other nation, and a greater portion of gross domestic product (GDP) is spent on it than in any other United Nations member state except...
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