Critical Regulatory Issues In Healthcare

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Critical Regulatory Issue Paper Lorrie Chretien HCS 430 February 28, 2013 Dr. Julie Miller Critical Regulatory Issue Paper The rising cost with health care cost a national issue that is getting bigger. The problem of cost is complex. There have been many suggestions on for methods to control health care cost with no simple solution. The focus needs to be on the common goal of providing high quality affordable health care for all Americans and implement policies to achieve those goals. When discussing the control of health care costs we must first understand the people involved. The four major groups are those who purchase the services; the companies that insure them; the people and organizations that provide their care; and finally…show more content…
Currently 16 percent of the U.S. economy is dedicated to health spending. The U.S. spends 52 to 90 percent more per capita that other industrialized countries without achieving the same or better health benchmarks than other similarly developed countries (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2009). Although this has been a hot-button issue for quite some time now, the heated debate is surrounding health care cost. The questions being asked are; when will there be relief? Will the relief be based on income? When will the issues with health care cost be resolved? It seems that almost simultaneously the general public cried out for nationalized health care. The debate over health care cost has and over what services should be administered has…show more content…
Consumers are demanding more test, better drugs and insurance coverage. Americans desire a high quality of life and insures/employers are trying to provide the means, but cost effectively and without rising costs. This population is living longer due to technical advances and insurance coverage according to Kaiser Family Foundation. A huge portion of this coverage provided is by Medicare. Generations have paid into and depended upon this source of funding for years. It is projected that Medicare will be exhausted within the next 14 years (Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2012). Medicare was subject to a Medicare Modernization Act in 2003, which expanded benefits for prescription drug coverage. This Act creates the problem for the federal government: an even larger budget deficit. The United States leads the other developed countries on spending per capita. In 2003, the total health expenditures per capita in the U.S. was $5.711, which was almost double that of Canada, $2.998, and more than double that of the United Kingdom $2,317 (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2013). Obviously the main health care expenditures in the United States of Medicare and Medicaid, but the increase in spending on these programs is slowly growing than that of private

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