Hcs 440 Health Care History Paper

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Health Care History HCS 440 3/5/2012 University Of Phoenix Health Care History The history of healthcare goes back many years. Health care in the United States has evolved tremendously over the years. The U.S health care system has been progressively changing since the 1800’s. Many of the changes in the over the last century can be contributed to advances in technology. Along with the improved technology comes the increase of the costs. Healthcare is much more reliable than it was in previous years, but it is also much more expensive. This is in part due to supply and demand. Since the use and need for quality healthcare is more desirable these days there is more of a demand for it. The price of a service or a product can either have an elastic effect on the demand for the product or an inelastic effect on the demand for a product. For instance, if the price for a tummy tuck were to drastically drop there would probably be more demand for them, because it is something that many people may want to have done, but cannot afford. This would be considered an elastic effect. On the other hand if the price of open heart surgery were to change the demand is likely to stay the same, because open heart surgery is a procedure that is not elective, and has to be done to save the patient’s life.…show more content…
Much of the reason for the steady increase in healthcare spending is because of the transition from paying out of pocket to the use of private insurance companies and third party financing. The economics of healthcare is still evolving today. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010 was designed to ensure that every American is able to afford and receive quality healthcare. The bill is not perfect and may still need some revising, but it is a step in the right

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