Introduction
Despite the transformations that the healthcare system is currently undergoing, the cost of healthcare remains high worldwide. The high prices have become an issue of concern even in the most developed countries. However, the United States’ budget for the health sector is higher than in other developed countries but still experiences poor health outcomes. Reports from recent studies indicate that one out of three U.S citizens cannot afford health care (Papanicolas et al., 2018). The high costs of health care are attributed to drugs’ rising costs, lack of government regulation, modern methods of care, and insurance and hospital systems consolidation. Therefore, this paper is chiefly aimed at discussing the trends in healthcare costs, high health care costs’ burdens, care delivery systems, and strategies to deal with high the high price.
Trends in the Costs of Care
Health diseases, especially chronic illnesses, are on the rise in the United States. Some of the common chronic conditions affecting the U.S population include diabetes, cancer, and hypertension. The cost used in managing the conditions is significantly high, making healthcare unaffordable for many individuals, especially those without medical insurance. Some states have delayed the expansion of Medicare, resulting in poor health outcomes and low quality of life (Reed et al., 2019). For example, the number of U.S citizens living with cancer has been on the rise and is expected to keep on rising if adequate measures are not initiated to preclude new cases. The introduction of palliative care and the incorporation of new technologies in managing the condition has significantly increased their treatment costs.
Diabetes is another chronic disease common among Americans, especially among adults. The condition subjects individuals to low quality of life and affect more than 33 million of the U.S population (Reed et al., 2019). The cost of care for the treatment of diabetes has been increasing over the years as a result of technological advancements, increased cost of drugs, and high costs of care services. An increase in healthcare providers’ salaries significantly influences the amount of money the healthcare organizations charge patients for services. Another condition that is associated with high costs of care is heart failure. More than 6 million people are currently suffering from heart failure in the U.S (Himmelstein et al., 2020). Over the last decade, the costs of care for the condition have markedly increased because of the introduction of life-prolonging treatments that involve the use of technology and expensive medication.
Burdens of Health Care Costs
Individual wellbeing is paramount despite the number of resources used in its achievement. The high cost of health care has marked impacts on the stakeholders involved in financing care, such as the government, households, insurance companies, and other private entities. Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance companies spend more money covering their members’ costs of care. Many American citizens use private insurance services funded by their employers (Skopec et al., 2019). Therefore, employers bear the most considerable portion of the burden of high care costs when insurance premiums rise. As a result, small businesses develop strategies to preserve profits, such as the reduction of employers.
Over the last decades, the spending of federal and state governments on health has been rapidly rising. The governments cater to the expenditures of their insurance programs such as Medicaid. For example, Medicaid has significantly expanded its services to cover more individuals over the last decade. Therefore, the government has increased its budget allocation for the program. Most Americans without insurance coverage do not afford healthcare services. About 10% of U.S citizens remain uninsured because some states are yet to expand their Medicaid programs or fall into the coverage gap (Himmelstein et al., 2020). Many Americans are currently unemployed due to the economic downfall caused by the coronavirus pandemic; hence, they cannot afford healthcare.
Care Delivery
Increasing costs of health care have led to the emergence of new trends that are cost-effective and efficient. For example, some technological advancements such as the use of telemedicine have significantly reduced the cost of healthcare. Another major trend is the implementation of the Affordable Care Act guidelines that have made healthcare services affordable and accessible to vulnerable populations. In addition, an Accountable Care Organization has been developed to improve care and reduce care costs. The increase in the number of government and non-governmental organizations providing healthcare services has resulted in the increased competition which is critical in reducing healthcare costs (Himmelstein et al., 2020). The increasing population of Americans is anticipated to trigger more private healthcare organizations that will compete to provide cheap care services.
The healthcare system should develop strategies that focus on improving the quality of care provided while reducing care costs. The use of technology to deliver healthcare services while patients are at home has critically decreased hospital visits (Papanicolas et al., 2018). Consequently, clients save on the costs of traveling to seek medical attention. In addition, more technology is required to eliminate unnecessary investigations and procedures. The provision of incentives to the private sector to provide cheap services can be vital in making care affordable. In addition, the federal government should actively participate in negotiating drug prices. The federal government is recommended to compare the costs of care and the anticipated outcomes and then develop standard care costs.
Conclusion
Worldwide, healthcare costs are on the rise, with the United States among the countries affected. The rising cost of healthcare has profoundly affected the management of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart failure, and cancer. Governments and businesses bear an enormous burden on the problem. However, trends are emerging to counter the rising cost of care. State and federal governments and all the stakeholders involved in patient care should develop strategies to make health care affordable to all populations in the United States.
References
Himmelstein, D. U., Campbell, T., & Woolhandler, S. (2020). Health care administrative costs in the United States and Canada, 2017. Annals of Internal Medicine, 172(2), 134-142.
Papanicolas, I., Woskie, L. R., & Jha, A. K. (2018). Health care spending in the United States and other high-income countries. Jama, 319(10), 1024-1039.
Reed, N. S., Altan, A., Deal, J. A., Yeh, C., Kravetz, A. D., Wallhagen, M., & Lin, F. R. (2019). Trends in health care costs and utilization associated with untreated hearing loss over 10 years. JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, 145(1), 27-34.
Skopec, M., Issa, H., & Harris, M. (2019). Delivering cost-effective healthcare through reverse innovation. BMJ, 367.