Essay On Health Care Fraud
The advancement in technology in the healthcare industries has not only left its positive landmark, but has also left a puzzling effects that are difficult enough for most people o actually sense or detect. This paper attempts to analyze the fraud that is predominately a feature in the healthcare sector, unnecessary medical procedures, a term which means overutilization, overuse, or overtreatment. This crime’s expense alone accounts for about a third of healthcare spending in the united states ($750 billion out of $2.6 trillion.
In the united states where the cost of taking care of one’s health is almost impossible, healthcare providers charges patients more to take care of needless or unwanted treatments that are primarily not needed in most of the cases, or have alternatives. Some patients who may not even have an insurance to cover all …show more content…
Subsequent interventions that are prompted by unneeded tests can add thousands to the tab.
Imaging tests for lower-back pain
The problem: Getting an X-ray, CT scan, or MRI can seem like a good idea. But back pain usually subsides in about a month, with or without testing. Back-pain sufferers in a 2010 study who had an MRI within the first month didn’t recover any faster than those who didn’t have the test—but were eight times as likely to have surgery, and had a five-fold increase in medical costs.
The risks: One study projected 1,200 new cancer cases based on the 2.2 million CT scans done for lower-back pain in the U.S. in 2007. CT scans and X-rays of the lower back are especially worrisome for men and women of childbearing age, because they can expose testicles and ovaries to substantial radiation. Finally, the tests often reveal abnormalities that are unrelated to the pain but can prompt needless worry and lead to unnecessary follow-up tests and treatment, sometimes including even
In the united states where the cost of taking care of one’s health is almost impossible, healthcare providers charges patients more to take care of needless or unwanted treatments that are primarily not needed in most of the cases, or have alternatives. Some patients who may not even have an insurance to cover all …show more content…
Subsequent interventions that are prompted by unneeded tests can add thousands to the tab.
Imaging tests for lower-back pain
The problem: Getting an X-ray, CT scan, or MRI can seem like a good idea. But back pain usually subsides in about a month, with or without testing. Back-pain sufferers in a 2010 study who had an MRI within the first month didn’t recover any faster than those who didn’t have the test—but were eight times as likely to have surgery, and had a five-fold increase in medical costs.
The risks: One study projected 1,200 new cancer cases based on the 2.2 million CT scans done for lower-back pain in the U.S. in 2007. CT scans and X-rays of the lower back are especially worrisome for men and women of childbearing age, because they can expose testicles and ovaries to substantial radiation. Finally, the tests often reveal abnormalities that are unrelated to the pain but can prompt needless worry and lead to unnecessary follow-up tests and treatment, sometimes including even