Cost Efficiency In Health Care

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Hello Everyone,

This week we are asked “Should the government be in a central position to issue physician practice guidelines based on cost efficiency?” “Why or why not?” “Support your rationales with evidence from the literature.” My initial thoughts steer toward the reasons for the complexities of medical care delivery in the United States, and those who are covered by tax-supported forms of health insurance. No matter what someone’s political ideology is, the fact is that our nation qualifies any American over the age of 65 for Medicare, and some 16 million poor, children, and those households who experience low-incomes under Medicaid (Shi and Sigh, 2013). It may not yet be a perfect system, but that is what a civilized society
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Government. It is argued that Americans exhibit certain behaviors which expect a high level of health care services, as those who are insured would not pay for such services out-of-pocket (Shi and Singh, 2013). However, I would like to inject another factor, and that is inefficiency and waste with what seems to have little oversight. For example, I have suffered an entire year from severe anemia. I was referred to several specialists, and had many diagnostics tests, and the results were several misdiagnoses. Then in August of this year, I could not even hold my head up, and my family took me to the ER. A simple blood test identified me as severely anemic, which could have been taken months before, but was not. My insurance company has now paid out around $24,000 and this is because I trusted the care they were attempting to give me. My husband and I are also left with very large overages which insurance did not pay from this experience as …show more content…
government’s involvement in health care delivery through its tax-based programs and the Affordable Care Act, have no choice but to manage costs, and perhaps building alliances with other organizations in the health are community, and an integrated delivery system may be important steps toward providing incentives for hospitals and providers to reduce costs, yet our textbook points out that integration of physicians into these entities have been challenging (Shi and Singh, p. 234., 2013). But, is this not just part of the evolution of our healthcare? My first job was with an HMO where the physician would have guidelines beginning with basic diagnostics, before unleashing expensive procedures and diagnostic tests. A simple blood test would have had me on my feet months ago. My hopes are that the government and other organizations with proven track records to reduce costs without jeopardizing the quality of care, and through the voices and experiences of patients, will develop guidelines to reduce costs and keep our system sustainable and valuable. I think it takes all of us to do this, not just one