Trends in healthcare services - Essay Example

Trends in Healthcare Services Trends in Healthcare Services Funding Measures The best funding measure to select for the health insurance plan is one that will be fair to all the concerned workers, and as such, not to extort the rich because of their huge personal income, or oppress the poor because of their low personal income. As such, and considering the three cases highlighted for workers with different earning categories, the best funding measure to select in order to generate an average of $ 4000 per every worker is the second option.

This second option proposes the doubling of the current 7.65% payroll tax that comes out of the pay of the workers in order to cover both social security as well as Medicare. This option is optimal because it enables the government to collect adequate funds from the workers for the national health insurance program. In addition, this platform is fair to all the groups of workers considered as it applies the charges as a percentage of their payroll; hence a worker contributes an amount relative to his or her salary.

This also makes the platform fair for all (Diamond & Vartiainen, 2012).Effect of the Emergence of Different Health Insurance PlansCurrently, there exist different types of health insurance plans that individuals can opt for in a quest to secure health insurance. In addition, there also exist a number of health maintenance organizations, capitations, as well as preferred provider organization within the health insurance market. These different platforms of health security and insurance have a significant effect on the trends of healthcare services today.

For one, these aspects have made it possible for more people within the population to be in a position to afford and access quality medical healthcare services despite their income levels, especially considering the high cost of medical services within the United States. In fact, the US is one of the developed countries that has the highest or the most expensive health care program in the world, thereby subjecting a great portion of its populace to poor health care services due to unaffordability (Feldstein, 2011).

Factors Affecting the Demand and Pricing of Healthcare ServicesNowadays, a health insurer has to consider a number of factors, on both the economic as well as the societal platforms that affect the pricing and demand of health care services within the market. Health insurance exists in order to provide the people with access to quality medical healthcare. However, the people need to afford these insurance policies in order to be in a position to subscribe to them appropriately. Therefore, in setting the price for these health insurance programs, the insurers need to consider the income levels of each person, whom they issue an insurance policy, the health condition or status of the insured – especially in consideration of terminal illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS – and the lifestyle of the insured.

Some people live certain lifestyles that expose them to high risks of infection, thereby making them prone to infection. For instance, a chain smoker is likely to contact lung cancer. A drunkard is likely to contact liver cirrhosis. A promiscuous person is likely to contact STDs or STIs (Henderson, 2011).ReferencesDiamond, P. & Vartiainen, H. (2012). Behavioral Economics and Its Applications. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.Feldstein, P. (2011). Health Care Economics. Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning.

Henderson, J. (2011). Health Economics and Policy. Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning.