Funding Health Care Services
Dr. Johnican
HSA 500 Health Services Organization
March 3rd, 2014

Funding Health Care Services

Ambulatory services are the services offered to patients if they are to be accommodated within the compounds of the healthcare institution under professional nursing care because of the severity of their health or because of the recommendations of patients’ physician or surgeon (Williams, S. & Torrens, P. 2010). The patient is only there for a day and then is discharged for the facility. There are services that be provided in a day starting from registering the patient to providing them with medication. There many different kind of services that falls under ambulatory care such as outpatient clinics, urgent care centers, emergency rooms, ambulatory or same-day surgery centers, diagnostic and imaging centers, primary care centers, community health centers, occupational health centers, mental health clinics, and group practices. There has been an increase in the ambulatory care because it is inexpensive and more appropriate health care setting. It is hard for the health care personnel and patients to adjust because of the changing technology and complex reimbursement systems.

There are spending costs involved in health care like money paid to health care providers in hospitals, outpatient centers, Veterans Affairs and other clinics, doctor and dentist practices, physical therapists, nursing homes, home health services and on-site care at places such as schools and work sites. There are few ways to fund ambulatory system like the money tax payers and the money provided by the government. Health centers were intended to serve poor but federal policy changed and now fees have to be collected from the patients. Also the patient is going to pay through public or private insurance. There is an option of Medicare and Medicaid that can be used by the patient to pay for the services and will benefit the facility. There are

facilities that are directly operated by the federal government. There should be a system of charging the patient, starting for the admittance to what tests were done and who recommended the patient. All facilities that receive Medicare reimbursement is closely monitored by the federal government (Williams, S. & Torrens, P. 2010).

Long term care services is health, mental health, residential or social support given to a patient how has functional disabilities on an informal or formal goal of maximizing the person’s independence (Williams, S. & Torrens, P. 2010). Long term care services are needed by people of ages and length of time period varies with the disease and condition type. The goal of long term care services is to help people accomplish purposeful independence and keeping the goal to cure them. Long-term care facilities include nursing homes, personal care facilities, residential continuing care facility, home health care, clinical services like physical therapy etc. Long term care facilities make a patients’ life easier after they have been through trauma or surgery. Long-term care facilities help by monitoring patient’s condition and changes services as requirements changes. Facility also helps coordinate the care of professionals and disciplines. A long-term care facility arranges financing so the patient is not paying more than the service they need. They also maintain comprehensive record incorporating clinical, financial, and utilization data (Williams, S. & Torrens, P. 2010).
All the insurance companies pay for long term care services because they know the importance of the services. There are different kinds of plans depending on need of the patient and the family. Medicaid is one of the largest single third-party who pays for long-term care. Services that Medicaid includes are nursing home care, hospice, home care, medical equipment, I in some states assisted living and adult day care. Other companies like title XX of the Social

Security Act, the Aging network established but the Older American Act, state and local mental health services etc. About one-fourth of the long-term care expenditures are paid by the family or the patients themselves. There are also private and public insurance that will help pay for the long-term care services. Medicare doesn’t cover long-term care services; only people who are over 65 years of age or are legally disable will be eligible of long-term care services (Williams, S. & Torrens, P. 2010).
There are many different kinds of mental illness such as depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, autism, eating disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and Alzheimer’s disease. All these illness alter thinking, mood, or behavior associated with distress and/or impaired functioning. There about one in five Americans who experience mental disorder in a course of one year. There are two kind of interventions with include psychosocial treatments and psychopharmacologic treatments. Most of the specialty treatment is now provided in outpatient setting like private offices or private or public clinics. There are both public and private facilities and services for patients with mental health issues. Private sector is directly operated by private agency and services are financed by private resources. State and local government has been the major payer for public mental health services (Williams, S. & Torrens, P. 2010).
The Medicare and Medicaid also help patients with mental health issues. There are federal government funds special programs for adults with serious mental illness and children

with serious mental disability (Williams, S. & Torrens, P. 2010). Mental illness causes emotional and financial burden on the patient and their family. Mental health treatments are costly and could be hard for a person to pay for it while going through the pain. Private insurance companies won’t pay for all the expenses and services so the government/ health care system has to step in. The private companies who do pay for the treatment and services are mostly government funds; the government is indirectly paying for the services.

References
Williams, S. J., & Torrens, P. R. (Eds.). (2008). Introduction to health services: 2010 custom edition (7th ed.). New York: Cengage Delmar Learning.