There are a number of things which will be changed by this legislation, including changing the uninsured status of millions of citizens as well the overall amount of expenditures in the health care arena annually. Because the dollars to fund health insurance are received, primarily, from the government and employers, they are considered the main financiers of the health services delivery. It is quite obvious, with the economy in a tragic state, that the financial aspect of a health care reform plan is a bar above any others. How exactly will the new financing system work? First off, the expansion of the Medicaid program will extend eligibility to millions of Americans, as well as eliminate the disparities between which sick children are allowed to see a doctor and which aren’t by mandating that all children be covered. In turn, lower income families and small businesses would be provided subsidies to help control costs. Also, medium to large size companies who refuse to insure employers will face a slight tax increase. In line with this, any consumer who is currently content with their own coverage status would face no changes. These marginal changes in the spending of money will, hopefully, help shift the escalating cost of medical services away from the individual, and also help contribute to a national exchange.
Under this reform proposal lowering costs, improving access, and ensuring quality seem to be an equal three-legged stool. Costs will be lowered as a shift to preventative medicine helps in early diagnoses and a strengthening of public health will increase the knowledge of consumers on health care issues. Reducing administrative costs by preventing errors will be another key component to this proposal. Access will be improved greatly, as millions more Americans will potentially have access to the system. The voluntary system of health care, which results in a vicious cycle, will be no more. Raising the bar on quality will force competition between hospitals, and the care facilities which can produce better outcomes shall prevail. Quality will then be ensured through availability of providers and standards of medicinal practices.
Written by Jessica Showen
Citations:
Shi, Leiyu, and Douglas A. Singh. Delivering Health Care in America. 4th ed. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2008.
Laszewski, Robert. "A Detailed Analysis of Barack Obama's Health Care Reform Plan." The Health Care Blog. 26 Feb. 2009 http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/03/a-detailed-anal.html.
Ruiz, Rebecca. "What Obama's Health Care Plan Means For You - Forbes.com." Business News and Financial News at Forbes.com. 26 Feb. 2009 http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/05/obama-healthcare-plan-forbeslife-cx_rr_1105health.html.
"Barack Obama and Joe Biden: The Change We Need Health Care." Welcome to Obama for America. 26 Feb. 2009 http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/.
"Healthcare Platform Highlights: Barack Obama." Who Will Save Health Care? 26 Feb. 2009
I agree that putting money into the health care system now will make the system more accessible to primary and preventitive care in the future. However, with our economy in the downfall that it is, I think many people would be upset if they see their tax money money being spent on healthcare instead of helping to turn the economy around.
ReplyDeleteJess S recruited me and I work in health care. My name is Kari.....
ReplyDeleteI don't necessarily agree that companies should be taxed that don't provide health care to their employees. That will result in lower salaries to those employees, and higher costs to the consumers of whatever that company provides. People have a choice of where they work, and if health care is an important part of chosing a job, they should consider other employment.
I like the where Jess talks about "Costs will be lowered as a shift to preventative medicine helps.....". I firmly believe that prevention and education will make the most impact on health care costs! People SHOULD know what they need to do to be healthy and stay healthy, however that doesn't seem very evident in today's society. For example, the rate of obesity in children is astounding!! The children of this generation are predicted to have a shorter life span than that of their parents!!
PREVENTION is key! Education is a HUGE part of prevention. More and more employers and insurance companies are finally beginning to see the importance of prevention. By spending a little money now on education regarding fitness, weight management, stress management, etc, companies can save astronomical amounts later in something that may have resulted in diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc!
I agree that a shift toward preventative care would greatly decrease health care costs. Fewer people will be progressing to sicker health states.
ReplyDeleteKari made a comment about employers offering health care. This made me think about the video Sick Across America where the young man had to forgo his dreams to work in chemistry I believe it was and work for Menards instead. He had to have health insurance and their plan would cover anyone. He had to work at a job he was overqualified for so that he could get the health care he needed. Considering other employment based on insurance isn't always so easy.
I think that the economy is going to really effect what changes are actually going to be made in our health care system. Paying more into a new system that hasn't produced any results or hasn't shown to reduce costs can be risky, and I can see people becoming upset with having to pay MORE than they already are for health care.
ReplyDeleteHow will errors be prevented in order to reduce administrative costs as your proposal mentions?
ReplyDeleteIs this a proposal to expand Medicaid or administrative costs? Or will both be affected because of this proposal?
ReplyDeleteI understand that both need to be done (there are a lot of things that need to be done) to help the health care system, but do you think we could do both at the same time?