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first reply

Economics can be used by healthcare professionals to manage costs associated with the expense of healthcare for populations suffering from illness. Managers need to implement opportunities to lower medical costs, because of the proven benefits of better health outcomes. “Health risks, specifically disease acquisition and treatment, of these populations are exacerbated by a lack of access to healthcare and preventive services, as adequate healthcare access is vitally important to prevent and treat illnesses.”(Amboree et al., 2022, p. 1) Lack of healthcare is a primary reason for increased health risks in vulnerable populations. In relation to, (Amboree et al., 2022) Data from the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system high-risk heterosexuals’ cycle 2019 in Houston Texas, reported more than 47% have no usual source of healthcare, and 94.6% reported receiving no non-HIV STI testing in the past 12 months. Healthcare managers must find ways to help bridge the gap between social inequity and regular medical care.

“In the language of economics, an input is a good or service used in the production of another good or service, and an output is the good or service that emerges from a production process.”(Lee, 2019, p. 18) Managers must understand what variables affect the cost and find measures to better control outcomes. “To reduce cost, managers must reallocate resources from low productivity uses to high productivity uses, increase productivity wherever feasible, and reduce prices paid to suppliers and sectors that have excess supply.”(Lee, 2019, p. 1) “They also must recognize that cost-cutting in proportion to, (Lee, 2019) is politically difficult because reallocation of resources and increasing productivity will cost some people their jobs.”(Lee, 2019, p. 7) Study results showed in accordance with, (Amboree et al., 2022) that those who had any type of health insurance had a higher prevalence of having a usual source of healthcare. “This is consistent with literature that suggests that those with health insurance tend to receive greater preventive healthcare coverage, more screening services, and more appropriate and timely utilization of these services.”(Amboree et al., 2022, p. 9)

In line with, (Lee, 2019) most governments negotiate input prices, but the United States private insurers with limited leverage negotiate prices. “Governments in the United States do negotiate physician and hospital prices for Medicare and Medicaid, but not Pharmaceutical prices.”(Lee, 2019, p. 12) Higher cost really does not signify a better quality of care. The United States in line with, (Lee, 2019, p. 20) spends far more on healthcare per person than any other large, developed country, American life expectancy at birth ranks twenty-seventh among the 34 members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. “Future efforts should be targeted at increasing preventive healthcare utilization among high-risk vulnerable populations as well as implementing more preventive sexual healthcare services in the community health center where these populations most frequently encounter healthcare.” (Amboree et al., 2022, p. 1)

Thus, understanding the relationship between health sciences and religious values is crucial to fully comprehending the role of spirituality in healthcare. (Saad & de Medeiros, 2020, p. 2) Healthcare managers are in a better position to advocate on behalf of patients when knowledge and respect for others’ beliefs are given personal value. More recently in line with, (Saad & de Medeiros, 2020)the spirituality of the patient (either religious or secular) has become a focus item of interest for health science, particularly healthcare. Healthcare efforts to bridge the gap in providing healthcare across all demographics may have a significant change in the cost of healthcare in the United States.

References

Amboree, T. L., Montealegre, J. R., Fujimoto, K., Mgbere, O., Darkoh, C., & Wermuth, P. (2022). Exploring preventive healthcare in a high-risk vulnerable population. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(8), 4502.  (Links to an external site.)“>https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084502 (Links to an external site.)

Gameiro, S., El Refaie, E., de Guevara, B., & Payson, A. (2019). Women from diverse minority ethnic or religious backgrounds desire more infertility education and more culturally and personally sensitive fertility care. Human Reproduction, 34(9), 1735–1745.  (Links to an external site.)“>https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dez156 (Links to an external site.)

Lee, R. (2019). Economics for healthcare managers, fourth edition (1st ed.). Health Administration Press.

Saad, M., & de Medeiros, R. (2020). Spirituality and healthcare—common grounds for the secular and religious worlds and its clinical implications. Religions, 12(1), 22.  (Links to an external site.)“>https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12010022 (Links to an external site.)

Teixeira de Siqueira-Filha, N., Li, J., Kibuchi, E., Quayyum, Z., Phillips-Howard, P., Awal, A., Mithu, M., Manzoor, F., Karuga, R., Saidu, S., Smith, J., Sai, V., Garimella, S., Chumo, I., Mberu, B., Tolhurst, R., Mazumdar, S., Rao, V., Farnaz, N.,…Elsey, H. (2021). Economics of healthcare access in low-income and middle-income countries: A protocol for a scoping review of the economic impacts of seeking healthcare on slum-dwellers compared with other city residents. BMJ Open, 11(7), e045441.

second reply

The United States healthcare system is complex, fast-paced, and ever changing. The major components that make up the healthcare system are delivery, finance, insurance, and payment. All these factors influence the cost of the healthcare system. In 2015, Americans spent 3.2 trillion dollars on healthcare (Lee, 2019). In 2018 nearly 18% of the nation’s gross domestic product was the result of medical care with hospital services accounting for 33 percent of spending, physician and clinical services for 20 percent, prescription drugs at nine percent, and other professional services at three percent (Crowley et al., 2020). The United States spends more on medical care than any other wealthy nation due to technological advancement, research, and various health insurance options. The cost of healthcare in 2016 for the United States per person was $9,892 versus Switzerland at $7,919 and Canada was the lowest at $4,644 (Lee, 2019).

Technological advancement in the United States healthcare system includes instrumental advancements, research, and medicine. American’s want the best quality of care, the most advanced instrumentation, and the fastest recovery. This alludes to the fast-paced world that we live in and because of this, the United States healthcare system delivers at a cost to price for patients. Other countries allow the United States to conduct research and testing to determine their process and how to best save money. Technological advancements have increased in recent years. For example, artificial intelligence robots can deliver specimens or be present in a patient’s room for observation or interaction. Robot-assisted techniques allows physicians to decrease surgery time and manipulation of the human body during surgery. Digital therapeutics allow for the continuous monitoring of vitals or glucose levels at determined intervals. Clinical research in the United States to bring a new drug to market costs between 161 million to 2 billion dollars due to cost of medical procedures, medical questionnaires, clinical assessments, physician fees, facility charges, set-up costs, advertising, patient recruitment, pharmacy fees, laboratory fees, and document storage costs (Sertkaya et al., 2016).

The United States is the only wealthy industrialized nation without universal health coverage, that is important in ensuring quality care for all without the financial burden or avoidance of care for patients (Crowley et al., 2020). Health insurance is mostly controlled by private companies, but the United States federal and state government also play a role with Medicare or Medicaid options. Deductibles, insurance coverage, and out of pocket costs are proponents that individuals with healthcare insurance must become familiar with for their plan. With multiple options, physicians and healthcare organizations can charge patient’s an amount that is deemed acceptable to their standard instead of a set standard of price for specific services. If individuals are not able to obtain insurance due to poverty levels, they may not seek the medical care they need. In 2010, the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) led to historic reductions in the number of uninsured individuals, yet approximately 30 million Americans remain uninsured (Crowley et al., 2020). Steps within the healthcare system regarding insurance options should still be examined to improve access of care, quality of care, and financial burden for patients. Proverbs 19:17 says, “He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given” (NKJV, 1982/2016). This verse reflects the significance that the Lord sees in helping those who are less fortunate. If the healthcare system can help those who are in need, the Lord will repay what was given.

Although the United States spends the most amount of money on medical care than other wealthy nations, the life expectancy of individuals is decreased. This is because the United States invests little on improving the social determinants of health and reducing inequality (Lee, 2019). The life expectancy for a female in the United States is 81 years old versus Switzerland at 85 years old and Canada at 84 years old (Lee, 2019). The correlation for male individuals is similar. Changes have slowly been implemented into the United States healthcare system to bring about awareness of health disparities and inequality to decrease the cost of medical care, but more changes need to be implemented for the success of the healthcare system in the United States.

Crowley, R., Daniel, H., Cooney, T., Engel, L., Health and Public Policy Committee of the American College of Physicians, & for the Health and Public Policy Committee of the American College of Physicians. (2020). Envisioning a better U.S. health care system for all: Coverage and cost of care. Annals of Internal Medicine, 172(2_Supplement), S7-S32.  (Links to an external site.)“>https://doi.org/10.7326/M19-2415 (Links to an external site.)

Lee, R. (2019). Economics for healthcare managers (4th ed.). Chicago, IL: AUPHA.

New King James Version Beautiful Word Bible. 2016. Zondervan. (Original work published 1982).

Sertkaya, A., Wong, H., Jessup, A., & Beleche, T. (2016). Key cost drivers of pharmaceutical clinical trials in the United States. Clinical Trials (London, England), 13(2), 117-126.