The Cost of Health Care

The Cost of Health Care

Health Care Cost Inflation

Cost inflation in the health sector for basic medical services, such as provided by hospitals, is higher than overall inflation. This inflation is commonly associated with rising incomes of health professionals. The health care costs have increased faster than the cost of other goods and services in the United States. However, Americans are not alone in worrying about the rising costs of health care and its significance for the future of public health care. In almost all high-income countries, there note trends and similar concerns, and one wonders about the sustainability of public health care (Hopson, 2006).

The health care costs are accelerating a major reason that many American families feel they are barely surviving. Our current healthcare system is no longer affordable. This shows us the experience of other countries and, unfortunately, the problems in our current health care system. Funding for health care comes from two sources the public and the private sector. As evidenced by previous reports, the share of total fluctuates over time. Public expenditures include the majority of public health programs, hospital care, medical services and care to status Indians and Inuit. The public sector also absorbs some of the costs of other services such as home care, prescription drugs and ambulances. The provinces and territories administer the bulk of the budget sector allocated to public health, part of which comes from federal cash transfers and tax credits. The purpose of this paper is to analyze health care cost inflation, factors that are influencing and propose two strategies (Coddington, 2008).

Factors Influencing Health Care Cost Inflation

There are certainly many reasons for the rising costs of health care. Here, are the most common reasons for the increase in costs:

Expenditure

Expenditures have increased dramatically recently, sparking interest in the identification of face factors causing the increases. Capital expenditures on items such as new technology and prescription drugs have been the largest increases, general increases in other categories, such as hospitals and medical services, are less pronounced. The general health of the population can also affect health care spending. Personal behaviors such as smoking, obesity and alcohol consumption can result in higher health costs. For example, obesity is major risk factors for diabetes (Smith, 2002).

Drug Prices

The inflation of drug prices remained stable, a situation which is explained, by the control prices of patented medicines, the expiration of certain patents ...