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Healthcare Cost Access and Quality

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Health Care: Cost, Access and Quality-What does the Future Hold?
Health care is a big debate in the United States today. With the implementation of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act of 2010, health care is at the forefront of people’s minds. The PPACA of 2010 has been met with much opposition, but is the best step toward a National Program, which is needed to ensure a healthier nation. The lack of health care that exists now has caused a decline in the nation’s overall health and an increase in its overall health costs. The PPACA of 2010 has placed an increased focus on health care costs, accessibility to health care and the quality of health care that is provided.
Healthcare costs have been on the rise for decades and continues to grow. There are many factors that contribute to this. People that are privately insured and have to pay little to no out of pocket for care, are over using the system. Since there is not much regulation on the market, care is driven by need as opposed to demand. With the growth of technology also comes an increase in cost. While new technology is important to the treatment and diagnosing of illness and disease, it is expensive to develop and test. The nation’s baby boomers are reaching the elderly age and that combined with increased life expectancy, the cost of providing these people with care is for more than the cost of the general population, nearly three times as high (Singh, D. & Shi, L. 2013). And lastly the model of healthcare delivery that is utilized in the United States is we are treating disease and chronic illnesses instead of providing preventative care.
Increases in health care costs, make access to healthcare more difficult for those who have a low socioeconomic status, minority groups and those who reside in rural areas. With the PPACA of 2010, more people will be insured, which should allow for

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