Homework Question on Rising Healthcare Spending
- Research 2 factors contributing to increased healthcare spending.
- Discuss WHY these factors lead to increased healthcare spending.
- Propose 2 solutions to EACH factor with references supporting each solution.
*References used should NOT be older than 2009*
Homework Answer on Rising Healthcare Spending
Introduction
Rising healthcare spending has become a prominent issue affecting employers, healthcare professionals, healthcare beneficiaries, and government legislators. The driving force contributing to increased healthcare spending is often misunderstood as growing premiums are often perceived to be the major reason behind this new development (Merilyn, 2005). It is however obvious that increased premiums are directly proportional to increased healthcare spending, and as such, they cannot be blamed for increased healthcare spending.
Instead, several other factors can be blamed for contributing to increase in healthcare spending as they combine together to trigger increased healthcare costs. Understanding these factors is thus important to help suggest effective solutions that can be adopted to address these issues (Cuffe, 2003).
Factors Contributing to Increased Healthcare Spending
Healthcare cost has been in constant rise over the last few decades, which has in return continued to affect people’s capability to access quality healthcare coverage. According to Kevin (2012), the cost of healthcare spending in both the private and public sectors has more than doubled since 1990. Rapid growth in healthcare spending is further expected within the next decade. Among the important factors associated with this development include growth in new technology and increased demand for healthcare service.Technological advances are among the key factors contributing to increased healthcare spending as medical practitioners rapidly adopt them to provide improved care and life saving medical techniques. According to Cuffe (2003), new technology comprises several innovations that may include diagnostic imaging, laboratory tests, and cardiovascular procedures.