HEALTH CARE QUALITY VS. QUANTITY

Health Care Quality vs. Quantity

Health Care Quality vs. Quantity

Introduction

A number of controversies revolve around the health care reforms of the United States. The healthcare cost in the United States is highest around the globe, if compared with the size of the economy. According to recent estimates, 50.2 million people out of a population of 312 million are living without health care insurance coverage. In addition to this, approximately 77 million people from the Baby Boomers are reaching their retirement age. This increase combined with the noticeable increases in health care costs per person is going to pace a massive budgetary strain on the federal and state governments of the United States (Kotlikoff and Burns, 2004).

If the health care reforms, in the United States turn their focus to deliver rewarding quality and reduced costs, the landscape of medical care can change. The way quality is measured in today's world primarily comprise of setting a benchmark for excellence. Thus, quality measurement has a strong impact on the realignment of the health care system of the United States. As estimated by a report of Centers of Medicare and Medicaid services, in 2009 nearly 2.47 trillion were spent on health care. Without having any reforms for cost reduction, the CMS predicted that these costs will double; thus, the Patients Protection and Affordable Care Act introduced. The provisions of this reform include expansion in health care coverage till 2014 for those millions of Americans, deprived of health and medical coverage.

Payers belonging to the public sector, for instance Medicaid and Medicare along with private insurers will strive to get hold of the rising health care costs, by providing quality instead of quantity. The current system of fee-for-service provides do not provide quality rather quality, since providers are paid for every test and treatment they go through; no matter if the resulting health from these services is good or not. Under the system of reforms, payments of Medicare will be linked partially to the quality of care given to people along with bonuses to those physicians and hospitals which produce the best outcomes of health care, creating value for the patients simultaneously.

Discussion

Quality of Health Care

A noteworthy debate related to the quality of health care system of the United States in comparison to other countries is going on a broader scale. A group of political advocacy claims that providing free market solutions to the health care lowers the quality of care, which in turn, increases the mortality rates if compared with system funded by the public institutions.

According to a report of the WHO, system funded by the federal institutions of industrial countries appear to spend a little on the health care, both as per capita and percentage of the entire GDP, enjoying greater health care results later. According to a number of medical researchers, determining the quality of care through patient feedback is the poorest way of all.

Every year, number of losses occurs as a result of inadequate insurance of ...