Rising Costs of U.S Health Care - Research Paper Example

Rising Costs of U.S Health Care The U.S has for a long time boasted of having the best health care system in the world. In the recent years, however, the U.S health care system has come under attack for its many problems. The private sector in the health care industry being the majority owner of health care sector in the U.S has particularly been criticized and has been under intense scrutiny over the main issues of affordability, portability, and accessibility of medical care to the Americans. The most concerning issue in the U.S health care system is that of affordability as trends continue to prove that Americans are forced to pay more for health care and for health insurance. Medical expenses are the leading cause for personal bankruptcy among Americans with over 70% of filers claiming medical expenses as the main cause of bankruptcy (Bureau of Labor Education, 2001). As at 2008, the U.S spent 15.2% of its GDP on health care, exceeding what any other country in the Commonwealth spent (National Health Program, 2008). In 2012, the U.S health care spending stood at 18% of GDP (National Health Program, 2008). Several reasons have been put forward for making U.S health care one of the most expensive in the world. Numbers of health care facilities in the private sector are growing following the entry of more for-profit health care providers. The ongoing shift from non-profit to for-profit private insurers also points to the rising costs of health care in the U.S. Administrative costs in private hospitals has gone up drastically from 34% in 1994 compared to the lower 22.9% in public hospitals in the same period (Bureau of Labor Education, 2001). On average, 33.3% of health care insurance costs from private insurers to health care seekers accounted for administrative costs, bureaucracy, and paperwork (National Health Program, 2008). The average American is sinking further into debt and bankruptcy due to the rising medical costs and over 15% of the American population lives in medical risk without medical insurance. As a result, this population faces more expensive health care due to medical conditions that become worse when otherwise and with health care insurance easier and less expensive treatments could have been accessed in time. Worse still, advanced medical technology and better prescription drugs are more expensive which translates to more expenses for the Americans who are in need of health care. Central to this U.S health care issue is the nursing profession. Registered nurses in U.S health care facilities participate in all activities of the medical process, and they are the largest group of health care experts in U.S medical facilities. As the U.S government embarks on the quest of lowering medical costs through health care reforms, the nursing profession is greatly affected by pressure on health care centers to cut on spending on nurses. The American Hospital Association (2001) showed that hospitals in the U.S had a deficit of 126,000 nurses, statistics that show that a worrying 90% of medical facilities in the U.S do not have enough nursing staff to attend to patients. Left to stand, this deficit is estimated to rise to 400,000 fewer nurses in 2020 (National Health Program, 2008). The elderly and terminally ill are at greatest risk as their life expectancy is threatened with the limited access to nursing staff. Conversely, the nursing profession has become less popular with the younger Americans going into and coming out of medical training institutions. Majority of registered nurses in the U.S health care system are above 30 years, and the average age of working nurses is at 43 years in long term care facilities (National Health Program, 2008). This age statistic is expected to go up as the health care crisis makes the nursing profession a declining occupation as compared to other occupations among professional Americans. Fiscal challenges in the U.S health care system prompt organizations and leaders associated with the nursing profession to respond accordingly by restructuring the delivery of nursing services so as to present the average American with affordable and quality medical care. For-profit health care facilities, albeit their existence as businesses seeking to make the most money have to concede to the pressure to contribute towards cutting of medical costs for patients. Previously, nursing in these health care facilities as well as in public medical facilities have been compensated on a volume basis. This structure of compensation is among the major contributors towards the high expenses in medical facilities (National Health Program, 2008). A suggested solution towards reduced employment costs in the nursing profession is compensation based on quality and not volume. This approach can see nurses being paid based on their quality and efficiency of service to patients rather than based on the numbers of patients that they attend to. Re-education of nurses on the financials and budgeting in health care facilities can also help them to understand the ‘bigger picture’ on how hospital spending and reimbursement of nurses affects all stakeholders such as patients in that the more the spending and reimbursement amounts the more that patients have to pay to keep the for-profit medical facilities in business. Nursing professionals can also monitor their operational expenses arising from the use of medical supplies so as to reduce their overall costs of providing medical care. Such can then be forwarded to patients in the form of reduced health care costs. The pitfalls in the U.S health care system have been blamed majorly on a misdirected goal of providing ‘sick care’ in the place of ‘health care’. This is so because the U. S healthcare system has failed to focus on preventative care, which is important for overall health and consequently results in reduced medical costs for patients. Strategies to monitor patients, diagnose, and treat ailments in the early stages must be adopted as the broader means of health care. Reforms in the compensation of nurses as well as in payments of medical costs by patients must be implemented in all health institutions (Kaiser EDU, 2011). The reforms, if well implemented and followed, can limit and eventually entirely eliminate the cuts in nursing staff in health care institutions. This can also increase the numbers of young students entering the nursing profession thus lowering the average age of the working registered nurse. Equally with the expectation that more Americans will seek medical care once the reforms are implemented, it only is sensible to have adequate nursing staff to attend to the rising numbers of patients that will be walking into medical facilities. With the threat of nearly half a million less nurses in medical institutions by 2020, it is imperative that the present U.S health care reforms make the best use of nursing staff if the desired health care goals are to be realized within a realistic time frame (National Health Program, 2008). Reforms alone while posing high potential in addressing the U.S health care crisis cannot on their own deal with the situation. The main issues such as rising health care costs arise from the private sector thus they must be dealt with from their roots. Competition in the private sector health care market not only for the medical facilities but also for the private medical insurance providers must be encouraged so that monopoly can be shaken and costs can be reduced. As more Americans are able to acquire cheaper medical insurance and cheaper long-term care that is expanded to include the larger population and not just the elderly, then the health care system can be turned around. References KaiserEDU.org. (2011). U.S Health Care Costs. KaiserEDU.org. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from: http://www.kaiseredu.org/issue-modules/us-health-care-costs/background-brief.aspx National Health Program, (2008). Current Problems with Health Care in the United States. Retrieved on April 24, 2013 from:  http://www.storyboardproductions.com/ehc/circle1/5-current-problems.pdf Bureau of Labor Education. (2001). The U.S Health Care System: Best in the World or Just the Most Expensive? University of Maine. Retrieved on April 24, 2013 from: http://umaine.edu/ble/files/2011/01/US-healthcare-system.pdf Read More