Health Policy in Florida - Assignment Example

Health Policy Assignment 3What do you think is the most … the factor you proposed.There are many rationalizations for the unusually high healthcare costs in South Florida. Fraud, abuse of healthcare policies and other white-collar crimes are among the main reason. However, the most important reason is the nondisclosure of costs to the consumers. The users remain oblivion how the healthcare system charges the money for services. This loophole gives the companies (especially the insurance companies) the leverage to add costs to the system.

A few reasons when combined produce the effect of unusually high price of healthcare in the state of Florida. For example, the state has passed many statutes and regulations since 1985 that require transparency disclosures from physicians and hospitals but this disclosure does not include insurance companies (Chang, 2014). Ultimately, they exploit this opportunity. For example, a website administered by the state authorities called www.floridahealthfinder.gov provides consumers average and medical services charged by the hospitals but it does not mention reimbursement rates (Chang, 2014).

Keeping this prices as secrets prevents lawmakers and healthcare policymakers from making better policies.Florida healthcare Coalition has put out many reports pointing out flaws in the system over the past years but they did not sit well with the hospitals. According to Becky Cherney, FHCC President and CEO, they blame the committee for coming up with biased data (Florida Healthcare Coalition, 2014). There are also some genuine hurdles in making the process transparent. For instance providing healthcare pricing to consumers in a form that they can readily understand is complicated because every patient has unique needs.

One cannot just put a standard for disclosing to the public to which every healthcare facility would adhere to.How would Affordable Care … or worse?The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 supports the notion that healthcare is a right and not a privilege. The intent of the law is to secure the maximum number of US citizens with healthcare. Making healthcare available to every individual at an affordable price is the motive of such an act (Rak & Coffin, 2012). The affordable care act tends to create new incentives for changing clinical practices.

The change in such practices as needed to provide better coordination and quality. Such coordination also gives physicians more information so they can practice their medical skills better than before (Kocher, Emanuel, & DeParle, 2010). However, wasting funds and abusing healthcare programs cost taxpayers billions of dollars (Morris, 2010). The problem with the healthcare act is not that simple to solve. For instance to help people but providing them insurance, the government needs money. This money will probably come mostly from high earners.

Ultimately the burden will be spread out on low income and high-income earners. The plan looks fragile when considered the poorest part of the population in Florida. Moreover, the holistic coverage of young people seems too much. Young people tend to get sick less compared to older Americans. The overall insurance premiums have been increased because insurance companies have to give covered services. Such factors raise the price of healthcare in the state. The affordable healthcare law was made with good intentions but when it comes to its application, it seems that it focuses more on coverage than reducing the cost of healthcare system.

It tends to ignore the transparency of costs that the insurance companies charge. ReferencesChang, D. (2014) in US and South Florida, healthcare costs often shrouded in secrecy. Miami Herald. Retrieved October 23, 2014 http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/health-care/article2102458.html Florida Health Care Coalition (2014) Case studies. The Dart Mouth Atlas of Healthcare. Retrieved October 23, 2014 http://www.dartmouthatlas.org/downloads/case_studies/Case_study_FHCC.pdf Kocher, R., Emanuel, E. J., & DeParle, N. A. M. (2010). The Affordable Care Act and the future of clinical medicine: the opportunities and challenges.

Annals of internal medicine, 153(8), 536-539.Morris, L. (2010) Testimony: reducing fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare. US Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved October 23, 2014 http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/2010/06/t20100615c.html Rak, S., & Coffin, J. (2012). Affordable Care Act. The Journal of medical practice management: MPM, 28(5), 317-319.