Week 6 Assignment #2
Strayer University Online
November 13, 2014
Reforms for slowing the growth in health care spending and increasing the value of care have largely focused on insurance-based solutions. Consumer-driven health care represents the most recent example of this approach. However, much of the growth in health care spending over the past twenty years is linked to modifiable population risk factors such as obesity and stress. Rising disease prevalence and new medical treatments account for nearly two-thirds of the rise in spending. To be effective, reforms should focus on health promotion, public health interventions, and the cost-effective use of medical care. Disease prevention/health promotion approaches are key to slowing the rise in health care spending (Thorpe, Kenneth 2014).
Over the past five years the cost of health insurance has risen 54 percent. This persistent rise has recently been attributed to the low out-of-pocket costs paid by consumers. Being oblivious to not knowing the full costs associated with health care, consumers demand more and “overuse” it (moral hazard). The growth in spending has also been linked to the rising use of prescription drugs and new medical innovations and treatments. Many others believe the rise can be traced to the lack of competition in the health care marketplace and have proposed new approaches for health plans to compete on price and outcomes.
Economists thinking about rising health care spending note that there are only two approaches for slowing its growth: reduce spending on high-cost medical care that produces no benefits, and reduce spending on high-cost care that yields some health benefits but at even higher costs. Along these lines, some have proposed that we need to “ration rationally” to slow spending growth. Although this may be true, this
