Payment Structures In Health Care Industry Homework

Identify a significant problem with one of the three payment structures used in the health care industry across the care continuum (from DQ 1) and propose a solution from one of the other two payment structures. 1 page, 2 sources. APA.

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MY FIRST PATIENT AS A MEDICAL STUDENT was a victim of the United States health care system. A fifty-year-old man who died of a heart attack shortly upon arriving at the hospital, this particular gentleman had been experiencing chest pain for over a year. But he had forgone a doctor’s visit because he had let his health insurance lapse due to its high cost. He is by no means alone. Sadly, the United States manages to leave 47 million Americans—about 17.7 per- cent of the country’s nonelderly population—uninsured.1 Of these uninsured Americans, 61 percent stated they either could not afford the cost of insurance or lost coverage after being laid off.2

Yet, remarkably, 55 percent of Americans do not approve of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).3 In 2010, the Demo- cratic Congress passed the ACA—better known as Obamacare—in an effort to increase coverage for those individuals without health insurance. The Republican House of Representatives has voted numerous times to repeal the law, and the GOP has made the legislation the central target of its partisan attacks. At first glance, this concerted opposition would appear to be the result of a lack of understanding on the part of the public, or merely political theatrics. Indeed, a Pew Research poll has indicated that, despite the displeasure with the ACA, 75 percent of Americans do not know how the law would impact them personally.4

However, is there, in fact, any real cause—beyond blind partisanship—to be dissatisfied with the ACA? Such an essential policy cannot be analyzed within the proverbial political echo chamber; policy makers and ordinary Ameri-

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cans alike must objectively examine the merits and shortcomings of the law, several years after its passage. Without this more nuanced analy- sis, Americans resign themselves to blindly take sides in a partisan war that threatens the future of our health care system, our economy, and the well-being of American citizens. To adequately understand the suc- cesses and failures of the law, we need to return to the bill’s origins: Massachusetts, circa 2006.

This journey back in time reveals a truth that conforms to neither of the carefully cultivated liberal or conservative talking points: the ACA, modeled on Massachusetts health reform and facing similar political and practical constraints, largely addresses access to health care and quality improvements but does not sufficiently confront the out-of-con- trol growth of health care costs. Payment Structures In Health Care Industry Homework

Under then-Governor Mitt Romney, Massachusetts discovered a successful recipe for universal cover-

age that would also satisfy important industry stakeholders.5 It is not sur- prising, then, that these same policy ingredients would reappear years later in the ACA. However, these policy choices do not necessarily rep- resent the best, most affordable solu- tion to providing increased health coverage; instead, they represent the policies that could both achieve expanded health coverage and also survive the Massachusetts political process. The ACA has many complex parts, including Medicaid expansion, Medicare reform, and incentives for

changing the current fee-for-service reimbursement method, but the legis- lation contains no direct measure to decrease the per-unit cost of medical services—unjustifiably higher in the United States than anywhere in the world.6

The ACA, like Massachusetts reform, accomplishes its primary objective: expand health care access in a politically constrained environ- ment. At the time, cost control was, by necessity, an ancillary concern. Yet the inability of the ACA to sufficient- ly address cost control will ultimately erode our health care system un- less future reforms are made. What, therefore, should be our focus? We must shift the conversation away from repealing the ACA and toward tackling the equally massive problem of excessive costs.

MASSACHUSETTS HEALTH CARE REFORM During the 2006 health care fight, Governor Romney had one primary goal: to ensure the passage of health care legislation that would effectively expand health coverage, even if that meant not addressing every aspect of the health care conundrum, particu- larly cost control. He and his allies in the legislature capitalized on a win- dow of opportunity to pass reform, utilizing valuable lessons from their predecessors who failed at the same task. Massachusetts’s health reform would ultimately prove a success because the politicos behind the bill provided a policy framework that managed to both expand coverage and also garner the support of key stakeholders, such as businesses and health care industries that had previ- ously opposed reform.

But it was precisely this push to satisfy key stakeholders that, while pivotal to the legislation’s passage, would also leave skyrocketing costs unsolved. Payment Structures In Health Care Industry Homework

Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.