The Cost Of Health Care
The Cost of Health Care:
A Problem That Concerns Everyone
Emily Chromizky
HCA 303: The U.S. Health Care System
Mary Teslow, Instructor
February 7, 2015
The cost of health care is a problem that the majority of Americans will face at some point in their lives. In America, the cost of health care is steadily rising while in other countries it is also rising but not nearly as quickly. This rising cost is causing many Americans to go without the care they need. How did we get to this point and what will we, as Americans, do about it? This is, by far, not a new problem, but it is one that has yet to be solved.
In 2012, healthcare costs topped 2.8 trillion dollars, with an average of $8,915 dollars spent per person. (Wilson, 2014) The rising cost of health care is taking much more money out of the budgets of millions of Americans. (Sultz, 2012) “Health care spending consumed 42% of federal revenues and 6% of household incomes.” (Wilson, 2014) With numbers like that, many Americans are neglecting their health because they simply cannot afford it. Now that the Affordable Care Act has be enacted, it may lift the burden for some of them. “It was not until concerns over the rising cost of health care resulted in cost-containment initiatives that changed the method of reimbursement for medical services.” (Sultz, 2012) This issue is so important because it seems that the segment of population who need the most health care, the elderly, are the ones who can afford it the least. “In 2010 the elderly population, 65 and over, accounted for one-third of health spending but made up just 13% of the population.” (Wilson, 2014)
Health care cost have been on the rise for some time. To find solutions to the problem of rising health care costs, we must look at what we have done in the past. We must look at the highlights of what worked and what did not to even begin to understand where to start our search to reduce the cost of health care in America. In the 1920s, the rising
A Problem That Concerns Everyone
Emily Chromizky
HCA 303: The U.S. Health Care System
Mary Teslow, Instructor
February 7, 2015
The cost of health care is a problem that the majority of Americans will face at some point in their lives. In America, the cost of health care is steadily rising while in other countries it is also rising but not nearly as quickly. This rising cost is causing many Americans to go without the care they need. How did we get to this point and what will we, as Americans, do about it? This is, by far, not a new problem, but it is one that has yet to be solved.
In 2012, healthcare costs topped 2.8 trillion dollars, with an average of $8,915 dollars spent per person. (Wilson, 2014) The rising cost of health care is taking much more money out of the budgets of millions of Americans. (Sultz, 2012) “Health care spending consumed 42% of federal revenues and 6% of household incomes.” (Wilson, 2014) With numbers like that, many Americans are neglecting their health because they simply cannot afford it. Now that the Affordable Care Act has be enacted, it may lift the burden for some of them. “It was not until concerns over the rising cost of health care resulted in cost-containment initiatives that changed the method of reimbursement for medical services.” (Sultz, 2012) This issue is so important because it seems that the segment of population who need the most health care, the elderly, are the ones who can afford it the least. “In 2010 the elderly population, 65 and over, accounted for one-third of health spending but made up just 13% of the population.” (Wilson, 2014)
Health care cost have been on the rise for some time. To find solutions to the problem of rising health care costs, we must look at what we have done in the past. We must look at the highlights of what worked and what did not to even begin to understand where to start our search to reduce the cost of health care in America. In the 1920s, the rising
References: Auerbach D., Heaton, P., and Brantley, I. (2014) “How will the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act affect Liability Insurance Costs?” Rand Corporation Cafasso, Ed. (March 11, 2011). “How health-reform stakeholders will be affected by recent changes” Demchak, C. (October, 2007). “The Elusive Health Care Consumer: What Will It Take to Activate Patients?” www.academyhealth.org/files/issues/Activate PBS. (2000). “Health Care Crisis” http://www.pbs.org/healthcarecrisis/history.ht m. Radnofsky, L. (February 24, 2014). “How the ACA May Affect Health Costs”. The Wall Street Journal Whitehouse.gov. (2013). “Reducing Costs and Improving Quality of Care” www.whitehouse.gov/ERP2013_Chapter_5.pdf Wilson, K. (July, 2014). “Health Care Costs 101” Retrieved from http://www.chcf.org/publications/2014/07/health-care-costs-101.