Improving Efficiency and Value in Health Care, Essay Example

Introduction

There are ten different titles of the Affordable Care Act; however, there are many different initiatives to go with these ten titles. This assignment asks the writer to choose three initiatives within the ten titles that he or she feels are important to improving our healthcare system and then providing examples and explanations to defend these specific initiatives. All of the initiatives of the Affordable Care Act are very important; however, the writer feels that making coverage affordable under Title I (Quality, Affordable Health Care for All Americans) of the Affordable Care Act is of utmost importance. The second initiative that the writer feels to be important is health care quality improvements under Title III (Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Health Care). Finally, the third initiative the writer feels to be important is increasing access to clinical preventative services under Title IV (Prevention of Chronic Disease and Improving Public Health) of the Affordable Care Act. The writer feels that all of these initiatives are important in creating a better health care system for the public and will explain why in the following paragraphs.

Discussion

The Affordable Care Act was put in place in 2010 by President Obama and was established in order to start providing Americans with easier access to affordable health care and better quality of care by providers. There are ten specific titles of the Affordable Care Act which include the following: Quality, affordable health care for all Americans, the role of public programs, improving the quality and efficiency of health care, prevention of chronic disease and improving public health, health care workforce, transparency and program integrity, improving access to innovative medical therapies, community living assistance services and supports, and revenue provisions (“The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” n.d., p. 1). These ten titles have specific initiatives that go with each, but the writer feels that specific ones are more important than others.

First, making coverage affordable under Title I is of utmost importance. Many Americans have been unable to afford health care for many years. In 2003, the number of uninsured Americans was more than 41 million (Kennedy, 2003). Kennedy (2003) states that the “lack of insurance creates a tragic burden of unnecessary disease, early death, and financial devastation” (p. 14). By making health care coverage more affordable, many Americans suffer less. No matter a person’s age, race or ethnicity, those uninsured Americans tend to suffer more, receive less care, and tend to die sooner than those who are insured (Kennedy, 2003). Kennedy (2003) states that the United States leads the world in specific areas such as medical research and the ability to cure deadly diseases; however, the United States lags behind most other countries in providing our citizens with affordable and quality care. The Affordable Care Act has changed these numbers significantly and has helped many Americans obtain health insurance that now provides them with the opportunities to receive the quality care they need. Yet, this would not happen without the initiative to make healthcare affordable.

Secondly, health care quality improvements under Title III of the Affordable Care Act are of utmost importance. The article, “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (n.d.) states the following in reference to health care quality improvements:

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will create a new program to develop community health teams supporting medical homes to increase access to community-based, coordinated care. It supports a health delivery system research center to conduct research on health delivery system improvement and best practices that improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care delivery (p. 6).

Without quality improvements in the healthcare system, Americans have no other options than to settle for less than the best. According to an article in the Health Research and Educational Trust entitled “Improving efficiency and value in health care,” (2008) “much of the current discussion on efficiency focuses on how to measure it” (p. 1). Many did not know how to specifically measure the efficiency of our health care system before the Affordable Care Act or they just did not care about measuring it. Now that the Affordable Care Act has been put into place and this initiative is one of the most important, people are discovering ways to measure the efficiency to better the programs that are in place. The main goal is to improve the quality of health care while still reducing the costs to Americans. In order to do this, hospitals must understand their abilities and their own capacities for change (Health Research & Educational Trust, 2008). According to this article, success at one level can help promote success at higher levels, but the hospital has to be capable of implementing the programs goals without much difficulty. Being able to measure the efficiency of the programs implemented helps everyone in the organization (whether hospitals or singular doctor’s offices) understand what needs to be improved and what is working well. If this is possible, this could change health care altogether.

Finally, increasing access to clinical preventative services under Title IV (Prevention of Chronic Disease and Improving Public Health) of the Affordable Care Act is of utmost importance to improving our healthcare system. Preventative measures are key to healthy Americans. The more that Americans can be proactive about their health, the healthier they will be. However, in recent years, Americans have not had this luxury since health care coverage has been so expensive. According to the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (n.d.), approximately 75% of the nation’s health care spending is due to chronic disease. This is about $5,300 per person every year. The Affordable Care Act aims to reduce this number and expects to do so by putting an emphasis on preventative health care. If preventative care was more important, there may be a lot less Americans dying from diseases that could have easily been cured at the onset of the disease. Without preventative care, Americans are not able to do anything about these chronic diseases. According to the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (n.d.), “the magnitude of our national health crisis requires more than occasional, individual visits to a primary care physician; it requires population-based public health strategies to reach people at work, school and in their communities” (p. 4). Therefore, it is important for Americans to have preventative health services at their fingertips in order to change the healthcare system in general.

Conclusion

In conclusion, all of the initiatives within the ten titles of the Affordable Care Act are important; however, there are some that seem to be just a little more important than others. Making coverage affordable, quality health care improvements, and preventative care are among these very important initiatives. Without affordable coverage, Americans are not able to receive the care that they need and are not even able to make the most of the preventative care that is out there. Affordable coverage would help many Americans live longer, healthier lives because they would be able to receive quality care and be proactive about their health. As stated, quality care improvements are important as well, but there has to be a way to measure them in order to determine if the programs are working or if they need improvements. The more we are able to measure these programs, the greater our opportunities for quality care will be. Quality care is probably the most important initiative because we need healthcare professionals who are willing to do a good job and be efficient. However, many of them, due to costs, are more worried about money than they are the quality care of their patients. Finally, preventative care is extremely important as well. Without the ability for Americans to be proactive about their health, more Americans die of the chronic diseases that could have been easily treated had they had the affordable coverage and the quality care they deserved. As many can see, all of these tie together and are equally important to the healthcare of many Americans. When we finally get these important initiatives in place, we will be able to say we are finally getting somewhere within our healthcare system.

References

Health Research & Educational Trust. (2008.). Improving efficiency and value in health care. Health Services Research, 43(5), 1-2. Retrieved from www.hsr.org/hsr/abouthret/content/hsrtheme.pdf

Kennedy, E.M. (2003, January). Quality, affordable health care for all Americans. American Journal of Public Health, 93(1), 14.

National Association of Chronic Disease Directors. (n.d.). Why public health is Necessary to improve healthcare. Retrieved from http://www.chronicdisease.org/?page=WhyWeNeedPH2impHC

The patient protection and affordable care act. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.dpc.senate.gov/healthreformbill/healthbill04.pdf