Affordable Healthcare in the United States
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Affordable Healthcare in the United States
Healthcare structure in the US is going through significant challenges that need to be addressed by putting in place several reforms. Shocking statistics on that are in the public domain show that al large number of US citizens are not yet insured. Besides, insured Americans are not safer still because they are faced by a hasty increase in insurance premiums that running their pockets dry. The Obama care healthcare policy though has increased the number of insurance coverage, seems to be a bit far from bringing an inevitable solution to the healthcare menace in our country. There is still a need to examine the gaps that exist when it comes to the provision of efficiency and quality healthcare. There is strong evidence that Americans do not what they deserve in terms of health despite the government spending huge amount of money in the healthcare sector than any other country globally. This term paper casts doubt on the current health system in the country and postulate other suitable reforms that can improve the quality, coverage, cost and availability of healthcare.
Establishing a well-coordinated healthcare system
The current healthcare situation in the country amid the Covid-19 pandemic have revealed that preventive care is under implemented. This will result in huge expenditures will be made when trying to deal with advanced and complex diseases. If the government could have properly utilized preventive care mechanism, we probably could not be where we are in terms of response to Covid-19. Also, patients suffering from chronic illness such as heart diseases, diabetes, hypertension, as well as Covid-19, should be given medically proven and quality care treatments to enable them to manage their conditions effectively. They can be accorded treatments such as self-management and therapeutical services. These circumstances are real to any American, whether uninsured, under-insured or insured. There is an urgent need for the government to establish a coordinated system of care for chronic illness patients (Rai & Devaiah, 2019). The healthcare fragmentation that exists currently is the source of all the challenges that are experienced in pursuit to lay down a healthcare system that is affordable for all. It is not surprising to find that the doctors may not be having the essential tools they require to work together and communicate effectively. The time to implement a properly coordinated health system is due, and the government should rapidly establish an effective policy that will form a suitable healthcare system. When this is done, Americans will enjoy incredible health benefits that relevant and of standard quality.
Reducing disparities in the healthcare system
At the same time, there is dire need to minimize if not to eliminate the disparity that exists in our healthcare system. Many studies have shown that a majority of the Americans are denied necessary healthcare benefits; others happen to get quality healthcare. Besides, research also documents other persons receive substandard or even harmful care. There are vivid statistics that demonstrate the variation of healthcare services across the geographical regions in the US as well as from one hospital to another (Schectman, 2019). The variance ranges from costs, testing and procedures, length of stay for inpatients and specialists’ consultations. To reduce these disparities, the government should formulate a universal health care system. This will enable, or Americans access the available health care services in equal measures without any discrimination. While implementing this policy, the relevant authorities must ensure that procedures and treatment services available are efficient and effective. The health practitioners must undergo robust training to enable them to be aware of the treatment services that are quality to the patients. This will make sure that diagnostic errors are timely detected, thus filling the existing gaps that hinder efficient and quality care. This policy will come in handy for low-income citizens and to other people of distinct demographic and ethnic groupings that are usually affected by the significant disparities that exist in our healthcare system. When all disparities are removed, we can now introduce an insurance coverage that will be unique and equal for all Americans. The Obama care policy has been able to increase provision insurance coverage but did not cure the many disparities that exist in our health care.
Changing provider reimbursement
Besides, there is a need to change existing provider reimbursement. There is a need to shift away from prioritizing intensity and volume of services offered towards quality and accountability for the total cost. This will act as a vital element in boasting integrated reforms on the delivery system. Many crucial services that are provided by our health care workers, such as harmonized posthospitalization maintenance and operative preventive care, are often incomplete. This is because our healthcare facilities do not have enough financial support to provide them effectively. The present system focuses on creating incentives for enhanced care and more comprehensive treatments, but it gives less attention to the standard and effectiveness of these services. They don’t bother to track these measures and ensure they act as an improvement to healthcare at the minimal possible cost (Stancheva, 2020). An effective and robust system should first reward value instead of capacity, quality before quantity and coordinated delivery system instead of disorganized care. Without fiscal reforms in the healthcare system that ensures that the doctors receive the necessary tools that will ensure that they are greatly accountable when delivering services, the existing health care challenges will persist. These reforms should ensure that the overall cost of treatment is cheap and affordable. Otherwise, other reforms such as individual and incremental delivery reforms won’t address the apparent gaps in value and quality of healthcare in the US.
Changing benefits designs
If the healthcare sector is going to prosper in the Us, those who are the helm of this cadre must cost of healthcare is not a barrier to accessing quality healthcare. When scheming health benefits, the critical component of cost must be properly examined to ensure that health benefits are affordable to all Americans. When faced with serious financial problems, many patients will tend to ignore any necessary care the same way they would ignore unnecessary care (Gaffney et al., 2019). Therefore, balancing the cost of treatment will provide an opportunity for all classes of citizens to access valuable services in our hospitals. Coverage Cost-sharing mechanism should be framed in such a way that patients can access cost-effective basic and preventive care that can prevent or derail the inception of exorbitant chronic conditions.
In summary, conducting reforms in our health care provision system is very important as it will address issues of poor quality, rising costs, and also help increase health coverage to many Americans. These reforms should increase access to affordable and quality care at the correct time as well as setting. The aim of the reformers should be focused on ensuring that peoples are healthy and complications and terminal illness are reduced to the extreme extent plausible. In my own thought, I believe that robust reforms can greatly support access to improved healthcare contrary to the current structures that encourage many tests, treatments and procedures that are almost unnecessary and to some extent harmful.
References
Gaffney, A., Christopher, A., Katz, A., Chateau, D., McDougall, C., Bor, D., … & McCormick, D. (2019). The incidence of diabetic ketoacidosis during “emerging adulthood” in the USA and Canada: a population-based study. Journal of general internal medicine, 34(7), 1244-1250. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-019-05006-6
Rai, S., & Devaiah, V. H. (2019). The need for healthcare reforms: is no-fault liability the solution to medical malpractice? Asian Bioethics Review, 11(1), 81-93. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s41649-019-00081-7.pdf
Schectman, J. (2019). Capsule Commentary on Okunrintemi et al., Association of Income Disparities with Patient-Reported Healthcare Experience. Journal of general internal medicine, 34(6), 1002-1002. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-019-04918-7
Stancheva, N. (2020). The economics of healthcare systems in the period of Global financial crisis-A comparative analysis. International Bulletin of Otorhinolaryngology, 5(2), 52-54. Retrieved from http://journals.mu-varna.bg/index.php/orl/article/view/7091