Healthcare Reforms in the US, Capstone Project Example

Most cost control issues that are central to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010, the issues resulted which resulted in inclusion and expansion of health insurance coverage and lately the development of long-term heath care insurance program, all these later spiraled into the evaluation of various approaches of controlling the cost of health. The government of the US cannot implement complex radical changes that affect large population without thorough research on how they will affect the citizens of the United States.

The research supported by NIMH is the only key component used in determining the measures that are implemented by the US government to control the cost of health care while at the same time increasing the quality of health care, maximizing public health and fostering the innovation of technology(Card, Dobkin & Maestas, 2007).

The problems facing reduced reimbursement from the government for healthcare services rendered

Falling Population health status

The population health status is set to measure the performance of the health systems   factors according to the life expectancy, the infant mortality rate, and the amenable mortality. The quality of life that can be associated with the probable reduction of the symptoms is also an important factor in the reform.

Continuous rise in the health expenditure

The report from the Actuary’s office in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services forecast a worse than imaginable situation that will be marked by an increase in the GDP of the nation from the current 15% to  approximately 20% in the year 2014 (Keehan et al., 2008). Further ahead the budget report of the congress ( Congressional Budget Office ) projects these expenditures to increase to  31% of GDP by 2035, to 41% by 2060, and to 49% by 2082 (CBO, 2007a).

Inefficiency of the health-care system

Many factors such as the health status and the associated health expenditure do not have impact on the life expectancy of the citizens and the health spending still seems to be out of proportion in terms of the life expectancy which as noted above is the second objective of the of the healthcare system

Prevalence of costly chronic health conditions

The prevalence of the costly chronic health conditions in the us than in any other OECD country is also another factor that might explain the underperformance of the  of the US health-care system, this explains the underlying health status of the populations as opposed to screening rates , (Card, Dobkin & Maestas, 2007).

The costs of medical malpractice insurance

The number of medical malpractices in the US is higher than in any other country in the world, this has been encouraged by the defensive medicine practice among the physicians in the US. The physicians prescribe test to rule out some of the potential health problems that have low profanity of occurring, this has reduced the interest of the population in the purchasing of professional liability insurance hence reducing the providers cost of doing business.

Available Statistics

• US spent much on health care than any other country in the world, which is been approximated to be about 16% of the total national GDP.
• Bureaucratic obstacles like a lot of paperwork and obscene cost of license fee from the state medical boards prevents those doctors who would like to volunteer, making it difficult for them to relieve the overcrowded government community health centers and free clinics.
• A dollar spent in ensuring perfect health and productivity can generate $20 in benefit in future. The US spent close to $7.200 per resident in 2010 that accounts for almost 16% of the US GDP, while the cost of total health care grew at an annual rate of 6% but still ahead of the inflation and national income growth.
• Data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey shows that total medical expenditure is much lower if the medical insurance coverage provided by public health coverage such as Medicaid compared to the private health insurance coverage.
• The average of the health systems total profit have remained stable at 5%, most of the US hospital have always recorded negative margins and are still tending toward total failure.
• The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey expects cost of health to rise by 11% this year.

What the professionals are saying:

Frequent assessment framework on risk is provided for use gives all the participants the opportunity to regularly conduct risk assessments in order to determine the various needs for the users that need to be supplied. This will enable individuals directly deal with evolving needs with regard to health and social care (Hurst, 2009). Given the need to reveal the likely risks, a given systematic procedure with specific frameworks, models and practices have to be employed to ensure that the process of assessing the risk is a success.

Other macro economic problems:

1. Slow flow of payments and the budgetary treatment of the proposals
2. Poor timing of these payments
3. Negative effects on the present labor markets
4. The current changing incentives to work
5. Finally, it is changing degree of the actual job lock.

References

Charles E. Phelps (2007). Heath Economics, 3rd edition. NY: Penguin Books.

Gruber J. & Adrian B. (2009). “Health Insurance and Early Retirement: Evidence from the Availability of Continuation Coverage”, Harvard University.

Bundorf, M.K., & Paul, M.V. (2006). “Is health insurance affordable for the uninsured?” Journal of Health Economics 25, 650-673.

Card, D., C. Dobkin & Maestas, N. (2007). “Does Medicare Save Lives?’ NBER Working Paper No. 13668, November.