Health Care in The US

Amni Banfarj (Nany) HLTH-207 Annotated Bibliographies Sep 25th, 2014 Health Care System in U.S Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicare program, change in methodology for determining payment for extraordinarily highcost cases (cost outliers) under the acute care hospital inpatient and long-term care hospital prospective payment systems. Washington, DC: U.S. General Accounting Office, 2003. Print. The health care in the United States has close monitoring from the state and in this book there is an account of how effective the Medicare and Medicaid Services are in delivering quality health care to the citizens. The data shows how the quality of care has improved over the years with these health insurance programs. McKinsey, & Co.. Accounting for the Cost of Health Care in the United States. : , 2007. Print. In the increasing need for affordable and quality health careMcKinskey in his book shows how the health care accounts for the medical needs through the funds allocation. The insurance programs are well explained up to the clinical level and special clinics that offer medical care to the elderly. The budgetary allocation of health care is 2 trillion but the effective use of the money requires an effective and accountable system that delivers the intended services and achieves purpose. Robert, Frank. “A Health Care Plan So Simple, Even Stephen Colbert Couldn’t Simplify It,.”New York Times 18 Feb. 2007: c3. Print. Robert has been writing about economics in the New York Times but his focus on Health insurance shows how the single payers approach works . Shows how the Health care program in the Unites States has been simplified through embracing the single payer policy in the United States .The provision of quality and affordable health care lies on the single payer plan. Quadagno, Jill S.. One nation, uninsured: why the U.S. has no national health insurance. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print. Quadagno is a professor of sociology in his book he shows how the United States has fails in providing the essential health care services to its citizens despite it being a leading industrialized country. He shows how the various attempts by the government to provide health care have hit a wall such as President Bush’s attempt to reduce tax on health care failed. Pipes, Sally. The truth about Obamacare. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub. ;, 2010. Print. In the book Pipes Sally who is an expert in health care and economics shows how the Obamacare health care program will crash into the United States economy with time. In her book he gives an understanding of the uninsured and how the health care program affects them. Running head: HEALTHCARE IN U.S 1 Health Care in U.S AMNI BANFARJ Nicole Perry HLTH 207 Date HEALTHCARE IN U.S 2 There is a hybrid system of healthcare provision in the United States with government healthcare e.g. Medicare, SCHIP for children, and is a mixture of both public and private components.

The government plays a role in the provision of subsidized healthcare to people who are unable to afford it. The government is subsidizing the uninsured in America through the provision of free medical service in hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices and through free medicines in government hospitals. The government also establishes insurance programs tailored for low-income people who cannot access the usual insurance packages. Government regulation of the healthcare is paramount due to safety issues. An example is the Food and Drug Administration which is an agency that has to ensure safety standards for drugs and healthcare are met by all medical practitioners. This regulatory regime protects American citizens from counterfeit drugs being imported from foreign countries. Through this agency, the government can test drugs, conduct clinical certification trials to determine the efficacy of a drug and its likely side effects. U.S. spending on Medical Research counts for the vast majority of Research and Development spending in the world. Healthcare is such a contentious issue in the United States partly because it cuts so much into government funding. Healthcare is being projected to consume 40% of the country’s GDP by 2050. The United States government also currently spends more on administration than twentyone other countries that have a life expectancy exceeding that of the U.S. 40 Million Americans also currently live without health insurance. This has necessitated the government to implement a couple of healthcare reform policies aimed at reducing the cost escalation that it has on the country’s economy. Health Care in The US

An individual’s medical right has also now become an absolute right that the government has to insure. This is not only supposed to be affordable for the average citizen, there should also be quality of treatment and equal treatment proffered under the government HEALTHCARE IN U.S 3 funded healthcare. These are but a small part of the suggested solutions and current concerns that are hindering the reaching of a consensus, whether political or not. In order to bring down costs, the government has been involved in various sectors of the healthcare industry e.g. insurance, medical industry advertising, drugs etc. Conversely, profit, choice of patients, access to certain services, technological advances all mean that cutting costs may come at the expense of reducing the quality of medical care. An ongoing challenge to this rising cost problem is the inflated fees charged on patients by insurance companies who make all the pricing decisions. Patients do not ask how much their medical procedure costs when they visit the hospital or when they get a prescription filled. Therefore, the excessive costs remain reasonable while healthcare costs explode. Traditional insurance protects against rare and catastrophic events while charging a premium based on the likelihood of those events. Since people do not pay for most medical services; their insurance covers this; they use too much of their cover and this keeps driving up the costs of medical expenses. The insurance companies therefore raise premiums. The current President of the United States, Barrack Obama, has initiated a healthcare reform program called Medicare, launched by the Affordable Care Act. Popularly known as “Obamacare”, it plans on fixing the extremely expensive healthcare scenario prevalent in the United States. The Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to cover every child regardless of pre-existing medical conditions. This has resulted in some insurance companies opt out of offering some coverage platforms or even out of health insurance altogether. State funding portrays the notion that medical services are free thereby increasing demand. The Affordable Care Act stipulates that many Americans who are currently uninsured due to a pre-existing condition will get immediate access through a temporary high-risk pool. Such HEALTHCARE IN U.S 4 people will also be eligible for coverage regardless of their pre-existing condition. Medically insured persons will also now be secure as their plan will not be allowed to drop their coverage once they get sick. Senior U.S. citizens will also receive lower prescription drug prices. Small businesses will also be offered tax credits when they purchase coverage of “Obamacare”. Health Care in The US

These are some of the benefits of The Affordable Care Act that are being advanced by the supporters of the healthcare insurance policy. Many legal and healthcare experts feel that the government should get out of the healthcare business altogether. Governments deal with increased demand for healthcare services by rationing. This impacts negatively as individual choice of when and how to receive treatment therefore is taken away from the American citizen. Contrary to what opponents of The Affordable Care Act say, the United States did not have a free medical market before the current government came into power. The system was based upon limiting competition e.g. occupational licensing, FDA rules and other government intrusions. The government also stimulated demand through tax-favored employee insurance such as Medicare and Medicaid. Affordable and advanced healthcare in the United States can only be acquired through allowing open competition in the healthcare industry. Excessive government regulation, bureaucratic obstacles and corporate privileges only serve to hinder this process. A free market will give healthcare increased innovation at the lowest possible cost. Consumers should therefore have to spend their own money on healthcare while limiting insurance to catastrophic situations. There have been many personal health services but with different kinds of financial arrangements. Until recently about 15% of people in the United States live without medical insurance. In case these people wish to receive medical help, they have to use money from their own pocket. A lot of people do not get the care they need and the U.S government is failing a lot HEALTHCARE IN U.S 5 of people. About 60% of U.S citizens get medical insurance from their employer. These plans usually do not charge people differently based on factors such as gender, age or past medical history. They range in benefits such as preventive care, care when one gets sick and prescription drugs. The federal government is currently running several national socialist programs for health insurance.

Medicare is one of them and it’s a single payer system whereby all people are covered by one type of insurance. Medicaid, on the other hand, is a state-based program supposed to provide healthcare coverage for the poorest American citizens. The Medicaid expansion in the Affordable Care Act was supposed to provide medical care to Americans of low economic status regardless of whether they have children or not. The Supreme Court recently made a landmark ruling on certain provisions located within the Affordable Care Act. With the statute being included in over 900 pages, the Republicans and Democrats were in argument over two major provisions. The individual mandate that required everyone to get insurance. The desirable healthcare system in America today should be safe, effective, patient-centered, timely and equitable. The United States has yet to put in place comprehensive and tried healthcare reform. The acceleration of national health costs and federal budgets as a consequence of Medicare and Medicaid is feared to follow the passing of the Affordable Care Act. There has been a lack of comprehensive federal legislation; no meaningful progress has been made on structural revolution of the healthcare industry. Health Care in The US

While research may have deepened knowledge of the problem, the various reform proposals need to actually contribute to policy changes and developments. Powerful political, social and economic forces have played an influential role hinder the formulation of a shrewd health policy. These factors must be balanced in lowering the HEALTHCARE IN U.S 6 costs and harnessing the benefits of sound healthcare policies. The federal government’s reform policy has to be based on extensive research and not plain, political rhetoric. One of the policies undertaken by the government is to increase enrollment in training schools for healthcare professionals. This has led to an oversupply of physicians in a wide range of specialties. These findings have been reinforced by research showing that a rising of supply of healthcare professionals, at the expense of reducing the already escalating costs, only serves to increase national spending on healthcare. The lack of competition in the healthcare that was so apparent a while back has now diminished largely due to an aggressive private sector. Medical technology has played a major role in improving healthcare and the U.S government needs to contribute more to research funding in developing better drugs and methods of treatment. The government also needs to be involved in the initial development of health planning programs and increase federal support for healthcare planning. The government was initially implementing available techniques for diverting individual behavior towards a more responsible, healthiness aware population. This research has now raised doubts and has been abandoned altogether. Economics is playing an even greater role in health policy issues and is proving superior to other disciplines in government efforts to address healthcare. The economic behavior of the healthcare industry is one of rapid financial and organizational growth and increasing competition.

Public health traditions have thus been overtaken so government policies to deal with this need to be stepped up too. The government has ensured security and ensured that privacy of the patients is regarded as they are individual rights that one is entitled to .The government has done so through HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability. HEALTHCARE IN U.S 7 HIPAA directly affects clinical work and the operations of any facility. Understanding HIPAA prepares you to step into health organizations with a clear understanding of complying with requirements for respecting the privacy of protected health information (PHI).Making the relevant companies in the field understand the importance of secure systems and how to improve them in the present and in the future in relation to the changing trends. HIPPA Privacy Rule creates national standards which protect the personal health information of individuals which applies to insurance carriers, health care providers, and health care employees. It is intended to place limitations and conditions on the use and disclosure of protected health information without the authorization of the patient. Government’s intervention in the health insurance sector has affected the businesses especially the small-medium size companies. With the government regulation that requires employers to provide insurance covers to their employees many of the companies have had a rough time doing business as they cannot increase the cost of business despite the increase in insurance premiums by 119 % in the past one decade. The premiums have been on the increase due to the government increased budget in the health sector .Also with the increased inflation in the economy the insurance companies are forced to increase the premiums so that they can effectively settle claims. Thus, the businesses lack extra money to reinvest into the business as they spend more money in paying insurance premiums. Conclusion The government has greatly affected the health insurance more directly than indirectly .As is the government responsibility to ensure that it’s citizens have the best health care the government had used regulations and reforms that have greatly affected the health care in America. These HEALTHCARE IN U.S reforms have had greater pressure on the employers as well as the health professionals to improve the standards and better their services. 8 HEALTHCARE IN U.S 9 Works cited Robert , Frank. “A Health Care Plan So Simple, Even Stephen Colbert Couldn’t Simplify It,.”New York Times 18 Feb. 2007: c3. Print. Quadagno, Jill S.. One nation, uninsured: why the U.S. has no national health insurance. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print. Shaw, Susan J.. Health Care in The US

Governing how we care: contesting community and defining difference in U.S. public health programs. Philadelphia, Pa: Temple University Press, 2012. Print. McKinsey, & Co.. Accounting for the Cost of Health Care in the United States. : , 2007. Print. Pipes, Sally. The truth about Obamacare. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub. ;, 2010. Print. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicare program, change in methodology for determining payment for extraordinarily highcost cases (cost outliers) under the acute care hospital inpatient and long-term care hospital prospective payment systems. Washington, DC: U.S. General Accounting Office, 2003. Print. The Basic Outline of a Paper The following outline shows a basic format for most academic papers. No matter what length the paper needs to be, it should still follow the format of having an introduction, body, and conclusion. Read over what typically goes in each section of the paper. Use the back of this handout to outline information for your specific paper. I. Introduction The introduction should have some of the following elements, depending on the type of paper:
Start with an attention grabber: a short story, example, statistic, or historical context that introduces the paper topic
Give an overview of any issues involved with the subject
Define of any key terminology need to understand the topic
Quote or paraphrase sources revealing the controversial nature of the subject (argumentative papers only)
Highlight background information on the topic needed to understand the direction of the paper
Write an antithesis paragraph, presenting the primary opposing views (argumentative paper only) The introduction must end with a THESIS statement (a 1 to 2 sentences in length):
Tell what the overall paper will focus on
Briefly outline the main points in the paper II. Body
Clearly present the main points of the paper as listed in the thesis
Give strong examples, details, and explanations to support each main points
If an argumentative paper, address any counterarguments and refute those arguments
If a research paper, use strong evidence from sources—paraphrases, summaries, and quotations that support the main points III. Conclusion
Restate your thesis from the introduction in different words
Briefly summarize each main point found in the body of the paper (avoid going over 2 sentences for each point)
Give a statement of the consequences of not embracing the position (argumentative paper only)
End with a strong clincher statement: an appropriate, meaningful final sentence that ties the whole point of the paper together (may refer back to the attention grabber) Additional Tips  Decide on the thesis and main points first  You do not need to start writing your paper with the introduction  Try writing the thesis and body first; then go back and figure out how to best introduce the body and conclude the paper  Use transitions between main points and between examples within the main points  Always keep your thesis in the forefront of your mind while writing; everything in your paper must point back to the thesis  Use the back of this handout to make an outline of your paper Paper Topic:____________________________________________________ Audience:__________ I. Introduction Possible ideas for the introduction (see front side of handout for suggestions): _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ Thesis Statement (Usually the last sentence(s) in the introduction): _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ II. Body (A paper may have a few or many main points; decide how many your paper will need) Main Point: ___________________________________________________________________ Examples/Details/Explanations: a. ______________________________________________________________________ b. ______________________________________________________________________ c. ______________________________________________________________________ Main Point: ___________________________________________________________________ Examples/Details/Explanations: a. ______________________________________________________________________ b. _____________________________________________________ …