Public and Private Healthcare Financing, Research Paper Example

Public financing options for healthcare are common in health facilities that are supported by the government. The resources to meet health care needs in these institutions are limited and consequently most patients receive substandard services or may go untreated altogether. The poor and the most vulnerable populations are the target recipients for care in the public institutions of healthcare. Their attention is mostly focused on geographical disparities. The institutions that offer public financing options have much of their emphasis placed on the preventive along with public health services. The curative centers of health care are well maintained and the hospitals are designed on an extensive system. In these setups, the convenience and comfort of the patients is accorded limited attention and the employees express indirect accountability towards the satisfaction of the customers (Herzlinger, 2007). The ability-to-pay for the public financing insurer is based on a fixed budget. These services are better suited for government organizations

In the institutions where private financing options for healthcare, customers are admitted based on their ability to pay for the services offered. These institutions ignore and exclude the vulnerable as well as the poor populations. The vulnerability to high profile competition from other private health care providers and also some public providers is high and therefore, they strive to compete for the customers. As a result, competitive strategies are adopted including price lowering and provision of high quality services so that they can remain profitable and viable in this market. With the private financing options for healthcare, supplementary healthcare is availed to the customers who are willing to pay and thus health care services are diverted from the poor populations to the rich populations (Bernasek, 2006).  Privately owned organizations that can best cope with the capitalist economic theory.

References

Bernasek, A., (2006). “Health Care Problem? Check the American Psyche,” New York Times.

Herzlinger, R., (2007).  Who Killed Health Care?, New York: McGraw Hill.