Fiscal aspects of health care delivery - Research Paper Example

Although health insurance had developed much, there was shortage of health facilities in US. To increase the number of health facilities, the Hospital Survey and Construction Act of 1946 was enacted. The sources of money for construction of healthcare facilities came from the state and local sources. As the mode of delivery of health care improved, the cost of health care increased and many people were unable to pay the cost. In 1960, third–party payment systems for health care were created and they acted as the standard mode of health care cost payment in the country.

The growth of third-party payment systems increased further the cost of health care. This is because many patients were able to access health care services without out-of-pocket expenses. Those uninsured found it more difficult to access health care services. In 1965, Medicare and Medicaid programs were established to give people more access to health care services. These programs were meant to cater for the elderly, disabled and the poor. Several acts were enacted between 1940 and 1993 and all were meant to improve the delivery of health care services.

The acts were as a result of the demands and improvements in medical fields (Kotecki, McKenzie and Pinger, 2008). The US economy is concerned with the rising cost of health care services. Over the last decades the cost of healthcare services has been rising every year. Health care inflation will greatly affect the economy in the coming years due to a number of factors concerned with the delivery of these services. The number of uninsured people is also increasing and this is a concern because many of these people are low income earners, poor, elderly or disabled.

Their accessibility to better health care services is very minimal (Jonas and Kovner, 2008). Quality of health care services has been reducing and it is estimated that between 40, 000 and 100, 000 Americans die each year due to medical