Below is an essay on "Healthcare Reform: Cost, Quality and Access" from Anti Essays, your source for research papers, essays, and term paper examples.
Healthcare reforms are polices set by the government that describes future ideas and changes based on economic and social advances to create an improved healthcare system that benefits the society as a whole. The topics of cost, quality, and access have become a concern to many as the issues continue to grow. In the United States these issues are the top priorities that have been discussed for decades to enhance the system already in place.
The central idea of the first article focused on universal access of primary care. It states that because the costs of healthcare continue to increase so does the number of uninsured which in return increases the costs even more. “Primary care coverage for the uninsured is the first necessary step to reform and can be more cost effective and tolerable than a major system.” (Stephens, J. H., & Ledlow, G. R., 2010). Hospitals and physicians would spend much less on uncompensated care and patient’s health care debts would be much less. The idea of providing basic care as a right for all citizens would not only help the healthcare systems cost issues it would also increase the quality of healthcare. Everyone would then have the availability to preventative services and treatments meaning that less people would be likely to wait to seek medical care for an acute illness and the number of people attending emergency care departments would decrease. The economy and other industries would also see improvements. For example, the article states in 2002 healthcare costs accounted for $1,300 of the price tag for each American made automobile. (Stephens, J. H., & Ledlow, G. R. (2010). As a result, the misuse of emergency care departments for primary care illnesses should decrease preventing the responsibility issue of debt accrued by patients being passed on to the hospitals as well as other industries and areas of the economy.
What Happened To Healthcare Reform?