Efforts at containing cost in health care - Essay Example

Health Care Costs in the U.S of the of the Introduction According to the facts and figures, it is estimated that about one sixth of the U.S economy is devoted to the health care system with a significant rise every year, which means about $2.7 trillion is spent on this system while up to $800 billion a year is considered inefficient and wasted. Out-patient care includes most of the healthcare expenses. According to a survey, U.S citizens hesitate to get treated for a less fatal disease, and carry on taking OTC medications from the local pharmacies to subside the symptoms, this survey concludes that it is basically due to heavy expenses that are being spent on the treatment that they don’t visit hospitals or physicians who charge them a hefty amount (Robinson & Timothy, 2013).

Discussions Personal health care services in the U.S are provided by State of the provider, they provide healthcare facility to the citizens of 50 states in the D.C (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2014). There are profitable as well as non-profitable hospitals, both of them have different ways of charging the patients, However, there are some approaches, one of the approach is that the insurance policies should encourage the insurance consumers to get treated from a less expensive hospital, that will make the expensive hospitals less in demand and more approachable by the general public, other than this the unnecessary costs of the pharmaceuticals should be tapered off(Weinstein & Stason, 1977).

With this approach, the hospitals policy will start to be altered in the long term, it will take time and the benefits will be less expensive medicines, and more feasibility of the treatment in the hospitals for the general public. The undesirable effects of this approach will also be there, for instance, the hospital policy makers might not find it a right approach, a more professional team of health care managers will have to look into the matter, which might ultimately increase the cost of the whole process.

Along with the cost reduction effect, there should also be a cost-containable effect, in which the overall cost should be consistent. The cost containment effect might lose the market value of a specific product, there is also a chance that the medical staff’s income faces a downfall, which will lead to another problem, that is, the medical professionals will be discouraged to work under low wages. The approach is feasible enough, the Govt. should look into the matter and think about the patient’s and a U.

S citizen’s benefits. Reduction of overall costs can be extremely difficult as well but it should be fair enough for the citizens and their well-being (Rudavsky et al, 2009). However, the reduction of overall costs will be problematic for the health authorities as well as for the industries. Conclusion The health care facilities are the basic needs for any person, especially in a well-developed country where there are much expectations from the Govt. However, high costs including taxes and other facilities make it extremely difficult for a layman cope up with.

The fact that the health care system follows a better quantity than the quality makes it tedious. The health care workers are the highest paid professions in the U.S but this reason is not good enough for the insane rise in the costs. Above all, a good hospital needs a good administration, a good administration costs are the highest. A patient usually doesn’t know what is he being charged for, a lack of information also is a driving factor for high health care costs which needs improvement.

ReferencesKaiser Family Foundation (2014). State Health Facts | The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved February 2, 2014, from http://kff.org/statedata/ Robinson, J. C., and Timothy T. B.(2013) “Increases in Consumer Cost Sharing Redirect Patient Volumes and Reduce Hospital Prices for Orthopedic Surgery,”Health Affairs, Vol. 32, No. 8. Data retrieved from: http://www.hschange.com/CONTENT/1397/?topic=topic01Rudavsky, R., Craig E.P., and Ateev M.,(2009) “The Geographic Distribution, Ownership, Prices, and Scope of Practice at Retail Clinics,” Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 151, No. 5.

Data retrieved from: http://www.hschange.com/CONTENT/1392/?topic=topic01Weinstein, M. C., & Stason, W. B. (1977). Foundations of cost-effectiveness analysis for health and medical practices. The New England journal of medicine, 296(13), 716-721. Data retrieved from: http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/402576/reload=0;jsessionid=i9Dj3kPJdvBBwet1UlzP.