The Financial Impact of Increasing Healthcare Costs on U.S. Businesses - Coursework Example

The Financial Impact of Increasing Healthcare Costs on U.S. Businesses Health is indeed the first and foremost concern of any and United s, for that matter, must ensure that its citizens are given the best possible facilities and treatment no matter how tough or trying the circumstances are. Reforms in the healthcare regimes are something that will benefit the whole humanity and not a particular entity or set of people for that matter. It will take care of the generation to come after us as well as take into consideration the people who are existent and very much alive in the present times. Healthcare regimes need to be upgraded and brought to a certain level where they have no parallels. The relevant authorities and regimes need to be proactive in nature which means that the vision of having the related healthcare systems within the US medical departments and hospitals should be an ongoing activity rather a one step, reactionary move which usually happens from time to time, usually due to one calamity or a catastrophe that hits the particular region within the United States of America. (Sheaff, 1996) Thus in this paper, the focus would be set on discussing the healthcare systems that are operational within the US and also pinpoint the gray areas where some particular steps could be taken to ward off the negativities thus attached with them from a financial standpoint. This has been looked upon at from the stance of the different business regimes which are working within the US and trying to bring about a change in the US economy. Also this will provide with a strong footing to discuss the healthcare regimes which are present within the US as well as give an idea of its strengths that are presently available and the financial impacts in the wake of increasing healthcare costs on the country as a result of the same. (Fennell, 1993) The cost of healthcare is an investment that reaps rich results for the government as it gives the best possible amenities to its own men and women – for whom the government is undertaking all the steps and the measures in the first place. The spending that a country does in this regard is directly proportional to the results that it expects in the long run, through the different healthcare insurance programs, medication regimes and so on and so forth. These measures testify the attention paid towards the basic human life which is a very significant step within any state, country or society for that matter. To start with, a healthy person is not difficult to define. He is a person who does his chores regularly without getting tired too quickly and enjoys the time that he gives to a particular job or task day in day out. Apart from this, this person also takes in regular diets which are full of vitamins, carbohydrates and all other essential elements that make up our every day food. Health is internal to a person’s understanding of what it really is and then going about adopting it in a manner which he deems fit for his own self. It also plays a very pivotal role considering the same hindering the work routines of a person and thus the health system present in a person’s body starts to fall down, which really needs a composition of vitamins, carbohydrates, sugars, salts and so on and so forth to constitute it up and thus make the person healthy again. Surely it is more than just exercising and eating right. Health is something that is close to the working basis of the government’s mechanism itself since if its populace is not healthy and is prone to fall sick every now and then, then it means that the whole fabric of the society and indeed the country is not being treated well, as per the healthcare industry and this forms as a criminal negligence on the part of the relevant authorities who were installed at the helm to ensure that such a thing must not have happened. It is without a shadow of a doubt that the financial impacts might be relentless but then the loss of the populace means that the government is missing out on a very significant tangent – its people, for whom all the government’s steps, processes and activities are carried out in the first place. More importantly, the business fraternity would be immensely benefited if the steps taken by the government ensure that there is much to learn from the past and a lot to expect in the positive fashion in the coming times. When the talk goes out loud regarding the patients’ well being within the US healthcare regimes, it has been seen that they have been left on the mercy of the hospital and healthcare officials who suggest certain remedies which might not suit the person at all. But it needs to be understood that the US is making more investments in the said field than any other nation presently as well as in the past. Then there is the notion of showing attitudes towards the medication which is provided by the health officials which is somewhat understandable since the patients have a right to know and choose for their own betterment which kind of treatment would go down well with them. Similar kinds of attitudes are also related with their intake of the prescribed medicines. This issue crops up because of their ever present and prevalent reservations which usually crop up every now and then. It is on the same note that the nurses face a dilemma whenever they have to deal with any such patient who is insistent on finding out more about a general medication procedure or manner in which the treatment is going to be carried out. Thus medication insurance could enforce the legislators to ensure that the patients’ well being is of the highest standard and they are given incentives and benefits even after they have recovered. In fact this is an investment that is done in a proactive manner more than anything else. There is a general notion in the recovery community, which says that if one takes a particular medication and is far away from drinking and stuff like the same, he cannot possibly be bracketed in the category of sober individuals, within the US healthcare fraternity. Significantly, this is a two-way beneficial approach and must definitely be encouraged rather than prompting measures in the wake of having alternatives on seeing a particular brand of medicine or a tonic for that matter. In fact, as long as medications are taken exactly and in the order these are defined by the doctors concerned plus with the purpose they are intended, they should not threaten ones sobriety. Thus within the US healthcare regimes, the motivation for changing the single track attitude is very necessary as this goes a long way in establishing a solid relationship with the healthcare officials who feel more inclined in helping out the patient under medication. The assessment of one’s medication knowledge, his behaviors leading to its timely provision as well as the attitudes that are produced as a result of it reflect the overall temperament and bearing of a person’s hold on his medication and indeed the whole of the healthcare related regimes existent within the US itself. He is advised to at least disclose at least to himself whatever he thinks about the particular medicine and must make sure that the doctor understands his belief and view point, not only about the medicines that are being undertaken by him but also the manners in which it is completely hated by the patient. There is thus necessary to establish a criterion for evaluating particular medicines and the way of medication for a certain patient and which lies solely on the healthcare official’s part. But one must remember that costs of healthcare are the valuable savings which are done in the related field – these will come to save the lives of the human beings and would thus ask of these people to return in their best form possible towards the country and the society. Apart from these, some already set values, beliefs and notions that a patient holds for a general medicine or the way of medication also goes a long way in establishing his dislike for the same and this must be properly and immediately addressed by the healthcare department. The factors which occur with one’s compliance to take certain medication in such an instance is first and foremost his attitude, his past beliefs on the medicines taken or by one’s relatives or family members. Also the way in which the particular medicine is actually given by the nurses is also an important factor and needs to be properly seen in the context of medication and ever-developing attitudes of the patients. It would be a tragic tale for anyone to know that he has to take a particular medication for the rest of his life as everybody loves to spend a medicine-free life. (Mintz, 2004) From an organizational standpoint, the US businesses could lose out on maximizing profits if the government does not ensure the high costs attached with the healthcare department. What this will do is to send out negative signals to the investors and it will keep them away from investing within the US economy as a result of the same. It is a known fact that the business entities want to ensure that their individuals get the best medical treatment as well as there is guarantee of their long standing commitment towards the respective business organizations and this could only be made possible if the government drafts certain policies which go down well with the related regimes. From a business standpoint, it is mandatory to make certain that the employees and workers receive best possible healthcare facilities and this could only be made possible when the US government makes significant basis of the reality that the same has to be delivered in a cheap and cost effective manner. This holds true for not only the businesses within the US regimes but also towards its own people – the common man and woman on the street. The US businesses need to guarantee to their employees that the insurance costs cover all the relevant aspects of their health and not just make up a plan to provide medicines in the event of an ailment. (Mccrea, 2002) In fact what this means is that the insurance costs cover a wide range of the health-related problems which this employee would plunge into with the passage of time and the business needs to ensure that it helps the employee all this while. However this could backfire in the event of the high costs of the healthcare regimes within US and the same needs to be addressed as far as stopping outsourcing of jobs and business entities is concerned. (Glaser, 1991) On the same tangent, advances in medical technology have done a great deal to produce miraculous cures and recoveries. These are directly proportional with the growth in the basis of the US businesses if seen in the proper scheme of things. In some circumstances however, these advances have created problems for the elderly. More aggressive technology approaches are used to extend the life of the elderly. With these advances it has become possible to keep people in a vegetative state for almost unlimited periods of time. Moreover, there are situations in which neither the patient nor the family has the ability to bring such unhappy circumstances to an end. For this reason, advance directives are becoming increasingly prevalent. Similarly, these steps would ensure that some solid footings are being laid within the US healthcare departments and the related systems and there is good work being done left, right and center. What these advancements would indeed do is to provide a benchmark for the whole of the US healthcare regime and a certain policy would be enacted for the future generations to adopt and remain at peace with the prevalent system once and for all. In today’s world, getting treated is not exactly very inexpensive. The medications and the treatment tantamount to expenses which are unheard of when one compares the US healthcare costs with the other countries. However one aspect that differentiates US from these countries is the fact that the advancements in medical science within the US is much more as compared to what has been witnessed in the other nations, thus the uprising in the related costs as a result. The US healthcare facilities have thus significantly made a name for their own selves and such is the reputation that is built on this premise that the costs have increased exponentially over the years. The high cost of healthcare within the US businesses has been made apparent through the different policies and undertakings on the Government’s part. The need of the hour is to understand who is at fault and to pinpoint the exact areas where weaknesses actually lie. It is only when these weaknesses are fully exposed that the strengths could be built upon them and proper measures could be taken to counter the problems as and when they are found out. The advances in the healthcare fields have had similar impact on the US military regimes as well. Since the military is treated free of cost, the US healthcare administrations are finding it more and more difficult to treat the military without charging a penny. This has made the work of the US military even more stringent since checks and balances need to be ensured all through the respective processes. Thus Army’s top soldiers remain on the mercy of the US healthcare officials and their decisions to keep them fit and sturdy, up for any kind of retaliation on the part of the opposing forces. Thus it is a matter of fact that the debate within the US administration is on the accessibility and delivery of services, facilities, medical products, research measures and development regimes so that the overall healthcare picture is one which suggests improvement and progress to be an inherent part of the US healthcare department. The health management profession in the time like that of today is more vehement as well as ones that provide a fierce rivalry between the different colleagues working in that environs. (Blank, 1992) This is quite different to what was witnessed some decades ago in the similar settings of office workplace. People who are more preferably referred here as the professionals have made their marks in the specific business or traits they do and do well, so much so that they have broken their lives into many different realities, one such being their job from the health perspective. Others include their families and different significant relationships that they might have in their personal lives. It is possible but not usually that these lives mingle with each other. Men in some cases and women in a number of them are at the receiving ends of their life when they have somewhat difficult times coping with their personal as well as professional lives and not to forget the health that deteriorates during all this while. The problems thus quoted entail from minor ones to that of major significance, in their lives as well as their dependents’. (Nelson, 2007) Many people have been able to find out the reason for a man or a woman to be unhappy about this entire scenario at the health institution. A number of different institutions and educational centers have of late endeavored to expand their business and hence the field of imparting education by recruiting physically fit men and women. Specifically so because of the reason that these people, both men and women get along with the young students quite well and treat them much like their own sons and daughters. They, for that matter, do not have any problem mingling to terms with these students and hence the atmosphere of these educational centers and schools have really taken a fresh change ever since women have been inducted in them. But all in all, the problems women face in these educational institutions and office places are aplenty and need to be dealt with in a stern manner, because health and wellness is one such factor that must be shed light upon by all and sundry. The US spend on healthcare outnumber the spending that is done by other countries. The healthcare economic measures include the different funding models, compulsory insurance regimes, taxation, single payer debates, private insurance and financial inputs-outcomes comparison. US has a number of different publicly funded healthcare measures and programs which provide help to the elderly, disabled, military service men and women, veterans and the poor. The federal law ensures that the public access to emergency services is there and it is regardless of their ability to pay or otherwise. This speaks volumes about the measures that have been taken by US in the said regard. Out of the government spending that is done within the lengths and breadths of US, comprising of the tax benefits, 44.6% is dedicated solely towards health care spending which is close to half of the government spending. There are some estimates that suggest US health care spending to be around 15% of the GDP, which by all means is the highest in the world – thus speaking for its own self. From a financial standpoint, the debate regarding the US healthcare regimes is more pertinent than anything else within the lengths and breadths of the nation since a healthy body ensures pretty decent composition of a healthy nation and US is sure to thrive on the same premise all said and done. What remains at the very end is to realize that US authorities could do a lot more than raising the healthcare costs since they need to understand the bigger picture and forget about the short term incentives, if any, they have in sight. (Sorell, 1998) The US businesses would suffer immensely due to the high healthcare costs in terms of the employee insurance and the like since it would encourage outsourcing of jobs which would have been easily completed had the individuals been given the healthcare guarantees, coming from the US lands alone. Much needs to be done in the relevant contexts and that too quickly. References Sheaff, Rod. (1996). The Need for Healthcare. Routledge Fennell, Mary L. (1993). Perspectives on Organizational Change in the US Medical Care Sector. Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 19 Mintz, Morton. (2004). Single-Payer: Good for Business: Evidence Shows That Countries with National Healthcare Are More Competitive. The Nation, Vol. 279, 15 November Mccrea, Bridget. (2002). The Healthcare Scare: Insurance Costs Dont Have to Leave Your Company Ill. Black Enterprise, Vol. 33, December Nelson, Teresa. (2007). The Status of Women in Corporate Governance in High-Growth, High-Potential Firms. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, Vol. 31 Glaser, William A. (1991). Health Insurance in Practice: International Variations in Financing, Benefits, and Problems. Jossey-Bass Publishers Sorell, Tom. (1998). Health Care, Ethics and Insurance. Routledge Blank, Robert H. (1992). Health Insurance and Public Policy: Risk, Allocation, and Equity. Greenwood Press Word Count: 3,065 Read More