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Examine at least three current and future economic issues confronting today’s health care system.
Analyze the significant implications of the issues in question for market efficiency of the health care system.
Provide specific examples to support your rationale from readings throughout your program or from peer-reviewed journal articles. +400 words
One of the current and future economic issues confronting today’s health care system is rising costs. Health care costs in the United States are out of control; they have risen steadily over the past decade, and spending on health care accounts for almost 18 percent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), up from 13.3 percent a decade ago (McKinsey & Company, 2017). This increase in costs affects both private payers and public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, there has been an increased cost burden placed on individuals who do not have insurance or are underinsured due to high-deductible plans or other policies that require large out-of-pocket payments before insurance kicks in.
The significant implications for market efficiency of this issue are numerous; for one, higher costs mean lower quality care as providers may find it difficult to keep up with increasing demand if they lack sufficient resources. Higher prices also mean fewer people will be able to access needed services, leading to poorer outcomes overall – something that can further drive up costs when preventable chronic conditions become more prevalent down the line (Halloway et al., 2021). Additionally, rising health care premiums can act as a disincentive for businesses to provide coverage as part of their benefits packages – which forces people onto public programs like Medicare or Medicaid where reimbursement rates may be too low for providers to make ends meet (Singh et al., 2019).
Another key economic issue facing today’s health care system is provider consolidation. Over the past two decades there has been an increasing trend towards mergers between hospitals and physician practices resulting in larger integrated delivery systems (Pratt & Yee, 2015). This has had implications on both supplier competition and consumer choice; with fewer suppliers in some areas prices tend to rise while patients may find it harder to get appointments with specialists due to narrow networks associated with these systems (Kahn et al., 2020). Furthermore, mergers often reduce incentives among providers since profits go back into a single pool rather than being distributed individually; this means less incentive for individual physicians or clinics within a larger networked system which then leads to concerns about service quality falling further behind cost increases going forward (Omar et al., 2018).
Finally, another key economic issue affecting today’s healthcare system relates directly to technology: data security breaches caused by cyberattacks could lead not only financial losses but also harm patients whose personal information becomes compromised during such attacks. A growing concern facing stakeholders across all sectors is how best to protect sensitive patient information from malicious actors while still allowing access so that medical professionals can carry out necessary treatments or procedures without interruption from delays caused by security protocols taking place first (Todtman Nachamie & Nachamie/Todtman Law Group PLLC 2019). Such incidents can lead not only direct financial consequences stemming from data recovery efforts but also reputational damage should customers lose trust in the organization after experiencing a breach – all of which affects market efficiency if companies needlessly invest resources into securing their networks instead of investing them into expanding capacity or improving services offered at their facilities.
In conclusion, several current and future economic issues confront today’s healthcare system including rising costs that cause affordability problems along with provider consolidation reducing competition levels among suppliers while driving up prices as well as cybersecurity risks threatening patient privacy while burdening organizations financially through costly data recovery efforts. All these issues have serious implications for market efficiency thus highlighting a need among stakeholders across industries involved in healthcare provisioning alike – whether it be insurers looking at ways of providing better coverage at lower premiums or regulators making sure adequate security measures are put into place -to take proactive steps so that any potential disruptions related thereto do not affect service availability nor undermine customer confidence going forward(Halloway et al., 2021; Kahn et al., 2020 ; McKinsey & Company ,2017 ; Omar et al., 2018 ; Pratt & Yee ,2015 ; Singh etal .2019; Todtman Nachamie&Nachamie/TodtmanLawGroupPLLC2019 ).