Posts

How Skilled Nursing Facilities Are Increasing Costs to the Healthcare System

As many may know, healthcare in the United States is one of the most expensive compared to countries abroad like Europe or Korea. We hear about patients falling into the donut hole all the time and about all the uninsured people who have no access to healthcare. So what is contributing to the skyrocketing prices of United States healthcare? One contributing cause is skilled nursing facilities which many people don’t think about. When people with no insurance or a stable access to healthcare get really sick, their only choice is to get treated at the emergency department. But that’s not the final stop for patients who need further treatment and rehabilitation.The emergency rooms only have so many spaces for patients so once an immediate problem is fixed, the patients have to go somewhere, and that’s usually a skilled nursing facility if they require further temporary medical care. Besides the immediate costs of the emergency room visit, patients end up having to pay for their temporary
Post a Comment
Read more

Is the transition to Universal health care plausible in the US?

Currently the United states spends two to three times per capita on health care compared to other industrialized nations. While establishing a single payer system would be overall an amazing accomplishment for our country the switch may be too currently economically unstable. An attempt to dismantle the private payer system in the US would currently cause an economic catastrophe as over 800,000 people are employed by private insurance companies and thousands more by medical facilities just to deal with billing insurance. In order to combat this the US would need to enact a plan that would slowly change the industry from private payer to single payer. One example I can think of is when China transitioned to a Capitalist based economy. They achieved this role by slowly and closely managing different sectors of the economy in the transition and it was found to be tremendously successful. Switching to fast can cause to much economic instability and could leave drastic effects for future ge
Post a Comment
Read more

Medical Innovation Vs. Access to Healthcare

There is no question that the US healthcare system is one of the most complex systems in the world, riddled with disparities and inequities. It would be unfair, however, to overlook the significant impact the US has on medical innovation compared to any other country. Many would argue that what causes US healthcare to be so inaccessible to many, compared to residents of similar nations, is the very same reason the US is leading the world in medical research and innovation. What sets the US apart from other comparable countries is the extent of a free market, especially when it comes to the health field. Not many people would argue against money and profit being possibly the strongest driving force for progress and development. Companies and pharmaceuticals in the US are strongly motivated to continuously modernize and innovate in a market that promises huge financial gain for revolutionary ideas. This is not the case in most comparable countries, which may regulate this area of the
Post a Comment
Read more

Combating Health Disparities in the United States

          In the Untied States, it is no secret that there are vast health disparities among different cultural groups.   Specific populations in the United States are shown to have measured differences in incidence, prevalence, mortality, burden of disease, and other adverse health outcomes. Although cultural differences may play a role in different health outcomes, other factors may be indicating why certain groups have poorer outcomes. According to Healthy People 2020, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability status, socioeconomic status, and geographic location all determine health outcomes in addition to race and ethnicity.   I believe that slight differences in cultures may predispose one to certain health outcomes (i.e food, social drinking, religious beliefs interfering with medical care). However, it is our duty as a nation to ensure that health disparities do not stem from health inequalities, which are systematic differences in the health of groups due to avoidable an
Post a Comment
Read more

Burden of Medication Errors on US Healthcare Costs

              As we discussed in class, the United States spends more per capita on healthcare than any other nation, including 10 high-income developed countries. Despite its higher spending on healthcare, the US continues to have underwhelming performance in areas such as healthcare coverage and outcomes. Increased resource allocation on healthcare without improved outcomes has become a national concern for the United States. The rising costs of US healthcare have been attributed to the US fee-for-service system, underinvestment in social services, and high prices for pharmaceuticals and medical devices. However, I argue that the direct medical costs associated with medication errors are a significant economic burden on the US healthcare system.              A medication error is defined as a preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm. Medication errors poses a significant issue for healthcare quality and costs in the United States, c
Post a Comment
Read more

Fatal Consequences of the U.S. Health Care System

At present, one of the biggest debates in U.S. healthcare is the idea of universal healthcare. Should healthcare be a right that every citizen has? Are others obligated to pay the way for people to have healthcare? While most people will admit that children should have access to healthcare no matter what, they struggle with the idea that others may need the same help. If you are all grown up, why can’t you get a job to get healthcare? We forget that people get laid-off and lose coverage, or lack the ability to get a job to start with. While the government does its best to provide assistance to the disabled, that coverage can be difficult to get – it takes approval from doctors and a copious amount of supporting evidence to prove that you may need more help than you are getting. As a society, we are very protective and outspoken about what we consider to be our rights, even though we may not be in agreement on what that means. While people keep looking at healthcare as an
Post a Comment
Read more

Why does Healthcare cost so much in the US ?

In 2016, the US spent 17.8% of its GDP on healthcare compared to the 11.5% of 11 other high income countries. The per capita spending was double what the other countries spent.  The price of care services in the United States is not so much different than the other top countries in the world. Americans actually see the doctor less and spend less time in the hospital as compared to patients in other top countries in the world. One of the reasons that the US spends so much more on its healthcare system as compared to other countries is because the specialist, physicians, and other healthcare professionals all get paid more here than compared with other countries. According to an article, general physicians make around $220,000 in the United states as compared to about $90,000 in Sweden and about $150,000 in Germany. Healthcare Administrator pay makes up 8% of the total Healthcare spending as compared to 1 to 3% of the other top countries in the world. As we recently discussed in class
Post a Comment
Read more