Barriers in the U.S. Healthcare Delivery System: Raymond’ Case
Barriers in the U.S. Healthcare Delivery System: Raymond’ Case
There are various barriers in the United States health care delivery system that make many Americans not to access timely and appropriate health care. These barriers in the U.S health care delivery system mainly relates to the cost, quality and access to the health care (Shi & Singh, 2015). In the case of Raymond, a 54-year old man who lives in Jackson, Mississippi; faces many barriers towards obtaining health care. Raymond faces barriers related to the cost of healthcare delivery system. He cannot raise the amount needed to pay the physician’s bill or the price of the prescription. Additionally, he cannot raise the amount needed to pay for his health insurance premiums. Therefore, due to the high cost of healthcare provision in the United States, Raymond cannot access healthcare services.
One of the barriers that prevent Raymond and many other Americans from accessing the health care is the inability to pay for their physicians’ bills or the price of the prescription. This barrier is related to the cost of the health care delivery system. To overcome this barrier, the U.S government needs to come up with effective strategies for lowering the cost of health care services. One of the ways through which this can be carried out is by encouraging the hospitals, doctors, and other healthcare providers to create networks that coordinate patient care and become eligible for bonuses when they provide that care more efficiently. As a result, there will be a limitation of unnecessary spending, thereby reducing the cost of health care services. Accountable Care Organization (ACO) is already performing this function since it aims to share medical and financial responsibility for providing coordinated health care to patients in hopes of reducing unnecessary spending (Gold, 2014). However, the government needs to encourage and facilitate more of such organizations to ensure that the cost of health care services in the U.S. reduces as much as possible so that Americans like Raymond can afford it.
Another health care barrier that Raymond and many other Americans face and is associated with the cost of health care provision is the high cost of health insurance. Many Americans like Raymond cannot afford the high insurance premiums that are needed for a person to be covered. The U.S government can overcome this barrier by making government health insurance to cover all Americans who afford private health insurance. Although the Medicaid is a good initiative by the U.S government towards the provision of health services to Americans, it has limitations regarding the categories of people it covers. Therefore, expanding its coverage will ensure that many Americans including those who cannot afford private health insurance such as Raymond are covered.
The use of health insurance such as Medicaid will be of great help to many Americans such as Raymond. This is because of many reasons. For instance, it will allow them to obtain affordable healthcare when they need it. Many Americans like Raymond cannot access health services due to the cost associated with the health care delivery system. However, since health insurance will be able to cover such costs, they can obtain health care services. Also, the use of health insurance will also enable Americans such as Raymond to have not only access to affordable health care but also quality health care. Medicare, for instance, is a federal health insurance program and pays for high quality services besides paying for the number of services a hospital provides (Medicare.gov, 2016).
Questions
1. Does cost reduction compromise the quality of health care provided?
2. Are cost, access and quality of healthcare interrelated?
References
Gold, J. (2014). Accountable Care Organizations, Explained. Kaiser Health News. Retrieved 21 January 2016, from http://khn.org/news/aco-accountable-care-organization-faq/
Medicare.gov,. (2016). Linking quality to payment. Retrieved 21 January 2016, from https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/linking-quality-to-payment.html?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
Shi, L., & Singh, D. (2015). Delivering health care in America: A systems approach (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
