Cost-containing strategies used by the U.S.A
The rising cost of healthcare continues to claim a large portion of the United States of America's budget leading to the introduction of cost-containing strategies. One of the costs-containing strategies used by the U.S. health sector is the price option strategy. The price option aims at controlling the amount of money paid to the provider. For example, the introduction of Medicaid and Medicare programs that control the cost of delivering care by reducing the number of allowances paid to providers. Second, the U.S. health sector utilizes the quantity option strategy to contain high cost of health care. The strategy focuses on ensuring health care organizations utilize in total their potential through the implementation of high-tech programs, practicing utilization management, and implementing proper management guidelines to reduce the number of medical errors. The final cost containing strategy is the patient cost sharing option that allows insured patients share the cost of medical services (Kominiski, 2014).
Cost-containing strategies used in other nations and their applicability to U.S.
The impact of rising costs of healthcare is not only felt in the U.S., but also in other nations. Stabile et al. (2013) conducted a study comparing health cost-containing strategies of the U.S. with those of other developed countries, England, Canada, Germany, and France. The study realized that other countries apply different and more effective strategies to contain the cost of healthcare. Budget shifting acts as one of the most effective strategies used in other high-income countries. The strategy focuses on reducing the amount of publicly financed health care insurance for private insurers and moving the financial responsibility from the national government to other levels of government. Moreover, the countries implement the strategy of universality that ensures every citizen has a medical cover.
Other costs-containing strategies adopted by other countries are the reduction in pharmaceutical spending and the use of health information technology. The following strategies can work in the U.S. if properly implemented but some political and social factors influence their applicability. For instance, the cost containment strategy on universality faces barriers of because of the high rate of racial and ethnic discrimination that introduces health disparities.
The role of technology in increasing cost of health care in U.S.
Technology plays a major role in promoting safe, quality, and cost-effective healthcare delivery in the U.S. However, using technologically advanced equipment in health care is among primary forces that drive health care spending in a country (Squires, 2011). The cost of purchasing and maintaining technologically advanced medical equipment overruns benefits that the equipment is set to bring leading to high cost of care. U.S. could borrow a leaf from Canada and regionalize their healthcare care services. According to Aerde (2016), regionalization of health care system in Canada is achieved by integrating the organization and management of health care resources within geographically-defined sections to promote positive health outcome. America health sector can implement regionalization of technology by promoting good governance of the health care system that involves assigning an intermediary body the responsibility for coordinating all health care processes. Regionalization helps in controlling health care expenditures and integrating health care delivery.
Advantages and disadvantages of relying on increased patient cost sharing
The U.S. implements patient cost sharing as one of the costs-containing strategies in their healthcare system. The overdependence of patient cost sharing strategy has some advantages and disadvantages that affect both the healthcare system and the patient.
Advantages
The increased patient cost sharing helps reduce the cost of health care benefiting some people especially the low-income families. According to Kominski (2014), the introduction of patient cost sharing strategy in the U.S. led to increasing to triple the number of insured families with less than $1,000 deductibles per annum between 2006 and 2011.
Disadvantage
Implementing patient cost sharing brings a challenge to the health care system because it has to look for a way of ensuring more patient adopt the cost-saving procedure without interfering with the quality of care. Second, the continuous use of patient cost sharing strategy decreases utilization of health care leading to poor service delivery. The most affected are the low-income families that cannot afford to pay for health insurances and afford other house requirements.
Experience from the quiz
The outcome of the quiz played a significant role in understanding the relationship between healthcare delivery in the U.S. and other developed countries. It was surprising to note that U.S. spends more on health care per person than one could imagine. Spending more than $8,000 per year is far much higher considering the presence of health transformation strategies in the country. Moreover, the quiz helped in increasing knowledge on health insurance and its role in containing the cost of health care.
Suggested questions for further discussion?
Question one: The Obama administration introduced the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with the aim of containing the cost of health care in U.S. How effective has the ACA been in addressing issues of health care cost in U.S.? Has the strategy faced any political, economic, and social barriers towards implementation?
Question two: Should the United States health care sector focus cost containing in the aging population more than the rest of the citizens? (Hint: The aging population is raising an health alarm in the country)
References
Aerde, J. V. (2016). Has regionalization of the Canadian health system contributed to better
health? Canadian Journal of Physician Leadership, 2(3), 65-70.
Kominski, G. F. (2014). Changing the U.S. Health Care System: Key Issues in Health Services
Policy and Management (4th Ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Squires, D.A. (2011, July). The U.S. Health System in Perspective: A Comparison of Twelve
Industrialized Nations. Issues in International Health Policy. The Commonwealth Fund, 16(1532) 1-14.
Stabile, M., Thomson, S., Allin, A., & Massialos, E. (2013). Health care cost containment
strategies used in four other high-income countries hold lessons for the United States. Health Affairs, 32(4), 643-652.
