Module 4 BHM415 (AUG2014-1) (CASE)Consumer Driven Health Care (SLP) - Essay Example

Consumer Driven Health Care al Affiliation) Consumer Drive Healthcare Consumer-driven health care (CDHC) are third-party health plans, which allow consumers contribute healthcare expenses, routinely, for future medical expenses through consumer-controlled accounts and through employer contribution. It is one of the latest trends in the American healthcare system through which the American patients are able to manage their individual care. The rise in new as well as conducive legislative changes makes it more possible.

With these services, healthcare will become more affordable for Americans since these plans offer incentives to their consumer thus minimizing on medical care cost. Moreover, CDHC create an awareness of health care to consumers. With this awareness, consumers are able to weigh prices from different providers and select medical service that best suits them financially and as a result, service providers will re-price and re-package their services, in competition of patients, determined by quality and price and in the long-run the services become quality and affordable (Catherine, 2010).

Furthermore, the American patients are able to utilize the internet in browsing the medical journals freely as well as the libraries for information that was not previously available to them. The parents can comfortably test their children for any ear infection while at home. This is made easy since the parents can make use of the over the counters do it yourself diagnostic kits and this assists is saving the parents from unnecessary trips to the healthcare providers. CDHC offer several services like health savings accounts (HSAs) and health reimbursement agreements (HRAs) where in each account; there is a function for deposit, accumulation, and withdrawal of payments.

With health savings accounts (HSAs), the contribution deposited into the account is tax-advantaged and various medical costs are covered by the account thus cutting down on consumers healthcare cost. On the other hand, health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) are employer-sponsored and allow employees accumulate funds to cover their health care expenses. These expenses are employer-funded and the employer define how much to set aside for each employee, based on how much he can afford (Hughes, Root, & Roehrig, 2007).

Nearly half (45 %) of the population in the U.S are estimated to have been infected with some type of chronic condition. Using the CDHC systems, these patients who are infected with the chronic infections can control their healthcare as well as manage their conditions easily something that was not possible in the past. An example is the case of diabetic patients who are trained in injecting insulin maintaining and monitoring of the blood glucose levels and utilize the results in adjusting their dietary intakes and medicine doses.

As to conclusion, consumer-driven healthcare will be affordable, however, they have short comes. Some of accounts like health reimbursement agreements (HRAs) have high deductibles and benefits goes to the healthy but shifts cost to the sick. Secondly, consumer satisfaction is low since a consumer will have to move around “shopping” for services, which are affordable but not quality thus reducing satisfaction, and finally, with health reimbursement agreements (HRAs), if the deductible is exhausted, the consumer pays for the additional expenses from his pockets which is expensive (Rodwin, 2003).

ReferencesCatherine, M. W. (2010). Consumer-driven healthcare: What is it? The Journal of Medical Practice Management: MPM, 25(5), 263-265. Retrieved from ProQuest.Hughes-Cromwick, P., Root, S., & Roehrig, C. (2007, Apr.). Consumer-driven healthcare: information, incentives, enrollment, and implications for national health expenditures. Business Economics, 42(2), 43-57.Rodwin, M. (2003). The dark side of a consumer-driven health system. Frontiers of Health Services Management, 19(4), 31-34.