Question

"Health Care Reform - Why spending more will get you less" Your submission must contain the following issues: a) the uninsured; b) what is causing the increasing in health care costs; c) health care reform; d) the Moral Hazard problem; e) will extra preventive care cut costs Instructions: 1. You must cite 2 current sources (within 2 years) and your book or any other textbook, Wikipedia, or any other reference material cannot be used as any of the sources. Sources should be cited according to APA

Answer 1

a). We would like to make an observation about the insurance status of patients in the two states: both Massachusetts and New York are known to generally have a higher average number of insured patients than other states. For example, Massachusetts had 6.9% uninsured in the general population in 2001 (the first year of the present study) and 4.1% in 2012, while New York had 13.8% uninsured in 2001 and 11.3% in 2012. In contrast, Texas had 22.4% uninsured in 2001 and 24.6% uninsured in 2012. Despite the fact that most patients were insured in both states at baseline in 2001, the time period following the Massachusetts health care reform implementation demonstrated a clear reduction in the already small number of uninsured patients in Massachusetts as compared with New York.

b). One reason for rising healthcare costs is government policy. Since the inception of Medicare and Medicaid programs that help people without health insurance providers have been able to increase prices. Healthcare costs have risen drastically in the U.S. over the past several decades. According to a March 2019 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), healthcare spending in the U.S. rose nearly a trillion dollars between 1996 and 2015.

Where does that money go? According to the study, spending can be broken down into 11 categories:

• Hospital care (32.7%)
• Physician services (15.6%)
• Other personal health care costs (15.1%)
• Prescription drugs (9.5%)
• The net cost of health insurance (6.6%)
• Nursing care facilities (4.8%)
• Investment spending (4.8%)
• Clinical services (4.3%)
• Home healthcare (2.8%)
• Government public health activities (2.5%)
• Government administration (1.3%)

c). Health care reform is needed since health care costs have been skyrocketing. In 2011, the average cost for a family of four increased by 7.3 percent to $19,393. That's almost double of what it cost just nine years before that. By 2030, it is estimated that payroll taxes will only cover 38 percent of Medicare costs. The rest will contribute to the federal budget deficit. In 1993, President Bill Clinton launched the Health Security Act under the leadership of First Lady Hillary Clinton. It offered universal health care coverage with managed competition between health insurance companies. The government would control the cost of doctor bills and insurance premiums. Health insurance companies would compete to provide the best and lowest cost packages to companies and individuals.

In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law. It started phasing in new health care benefits and costs that year. It also began extending coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, children, and those who were laid off. It gave subsidies to small businesses and seniors with high prescription drug costs. It also provided funding to ease the shortage of doctors and nurses.

d)ThePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010. Commonly known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare. The act inflated existing moral hazards in the health insurance industry by mandating coverage and community ratings, restricting prices, establishing minimum standards requirements, and creating a limited incentive to compel purchases. To see how the act affects moral hazard, it is first important to understand moral hazard and the nature of the health insurance market.Moral hazard is often misunderstood or misrepresented in the health insurance industry. Many argue that health insurance itself is a moral hazard since it reduces the risks of pursuing an unhealthy lifestyle or other risky behavior.