Given the struggles in containing the costs of health care and given the increas

Question

Given the struggles in containing the costs of health care and given the increasing numbers of Americans who find themselves without health insurance, should organizations be investing in physical changes to their facilities to attract new patients through a more comfortable environment? Given the struggles in containing the costs of health care and given the increasing numbers of Americans who find themselves without health insurance, should organizations be investing in physical changes to their facilities to attract new patients through a more comfortable environment?

Explanation / Answer

Nowadays, Americans with below-average incomes are more likely to find difficulty in accessing hospitals for the treatment of medical problems. For example, many Americans who are below the poverty line find themselves not to report: to visit a Physician when sick, getting a recommended test/treatment/follow-up care, filling/refilling a prescription, etc. due to higher healthcare costs. Fifty-nine percent of physicians in the U.S. acknowledge their patients have difficulty paying for care.

This answer sheet deals with the problems of high health care costs, and disparities in the insurance coverage in the U.S. It also focuses on some of the common methods to be utilized to lower healthcare costs in America and to attract new patients.

Healthcare Spending in the U.S.:

The increase in the U.S healthcare costs can be attributed to three major factors:

Uneven coverage of Health Insurance in the U.S.:

The U.S. health care system can best be described as a hybrid system comprising of insurance coverage by the federal government, the state and local governments, and the publicly-financed (private) organizations. In 2014, nearly 32.9 million people in the U.S. had no health insurance at all. Medical insurance coverage in the U.S is uneven and often poor/people below the poverty line are underserved. Meanwhile, the premiums paid to the health insurance are increasing than ever. All of these create, more difficulty for an average American to access to a hospital.

The Affordable Care Act:

In March 2010, a new act namely Affordable Care Act (ACT) was enacted by President Obama which made remarkable changes to the healthcare system. As per the act, multiple provisions were included. Some of them are: increase in the accessibility to healthcare, emphasize on prevention and wellness rather than treatment alone, increase in consumer awareness, promoting evidence-based treatment, and measures for administrative efficiency to curb increasing healthcare costs.

In this act, all Americans are required to have some form of health insurance from either their employer, an individual plan, or through a public program such as Medicaid or Medicare. This coverage was focused more on the number of low-income groups all of whom had high uninsured rates prior to 2014 thereby making more accessibility to everyone.

What public organizations/hospitals should do to increase the accessibility of Americans to healthcare and to attract new patients?

A mere change in the physical system of a hospital/clinic/healthcare facility alone is not helpful to attract new patients. Therefore, healthcare systems should focus on other measures to curb the increasing medical costs and to welcome new patients.

Methods to reduce health care costs:

A hospital can attract new patients/retain old ones by:

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