NCS1101 Health And Healthcare Systems

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15-11-2020

Course Code: NCS1101
University: Edith Cowan University

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Country: Australia

Question:

Design the Perfect Healthcare System

Instructions:

Pre-class work –

Watch the Frontline video, “Sick Around the World.”

https://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-sick-around-the-world/

Take note of how 5 different countries around the world pay for healthcare for their citizens. All have universal coverage, and some have completely redesigned their systems within the last few decades.

Health care financing in the U.S. has reached a crisis. Within the last three decades, the number of health administrators has increased 26-fold. Health care spending now consumes about 18% of our gross domestic product, which equates to nearly $10,000 per person per year. By 2025, health care spending is predicted to consume nearly 20% of our GDP.

Nearly 45 million our 323 million citizens lack health insurance, with the majority of them being Hispanic citizens who work for small companies that do not offer health insurance. Even more citizens are either underinsured or being strained by the high

costs of premiums. It is also possible in our country for citizens who have major illnesses to have to declare bankruptcy as a result of poor insurance coverage. In fact, ¾ of those forced into medical bankruptcy had health insurance coverage.

Of those who can afford good health insurance, it is challenging for the average consumer to understand what is covered and how to access care. The true cost of care may not be known until after a bill is received.

Congress has tried repeatedly over the last several decades to reform the healthcare system, to no avail. Fortunately, they have located you, a group of experts, and have asked you to recommend the perfect system. They will examine all the groups’ recommendations and decide on one to adopt.

They have political agreement that this will actually happen – so the sky is the limit.

The changes you suggest will actually be made. So design the best system – don’t let previous historical stumbling blocks prevent you from recommending a certain change that you think will be beneficial.

Your Mission – Design the Perfect Healthcare System

Questions to consider as you develop your plan:

First, decide philosophically if you consider healthcare a basic right and will offer universal healthcare.

How will you fund your plan?

- Single-payer system (like the government)?

- What would the tax structure look like? Income tax? How much?

Insurance companies (will you allow them to be for-profit, or must they be non-profit?)

-Who pays? Employers? Individuals?

-Who pays for those not working / disabled?

Will you required price controls on services such as visits to providers,procedures, hospital days, etc.? If not, how will you control costs? If so, how will you address the decrease in salaries by providers? The decreased income for hospitals and other facilities?

How will you decrease the costs of drugs? What will you say to drug companies who believe that any price controls will limit their ability to develop new drugs?

What ideas do you have for decreasing administrative costs?

Answer:

The Perfect Healthcare System

A perfect healthcare system would obviously exist whereby we assume there are no challenges that come in the way as the different aspects of the system are put in place. In the US, a perfect system would aim at reducing the gross domestic product on health services, be able to reach all the citizens equally, be affordable and be able to increase the life expectancy. The system will address how healthcare services will be accessible by all the patients any time and how to implement the system. Healthcare should be considered a basic human right because each person gets unwell at least once in a lifetime.

The perfect healthcare system that I implement will enable all the people to access medical facilities. In this system, all public hospitals and dispensaries will offer these facilities whenever they are in demand. All those employed will be required to obtain an insurance cover that is supposed to be paid for each month through the check-off system. This insurance cover will be paid for according to one’s income whereby those earning more will have to pay more for their covers. This funds will be in return be used to fund the medication in different hospitals even for those who are not employed (Sturmberg & Martin, 2013). The government should make an allocation of funds to facilitate the medical access of the physically challenged and the mentally challenged.

The government should form specific insurance companies that will offer medical covers and also make sure all the employed have taken these covers. The insurance companies will implement a superfluous check-off system which will enable them to receive their funds directly from the employers. The government can also consider creating more job opportunities for the unemployed to help raise the revenues for facilitating this program. Whenever one is employed, they should submit their employment details which will enable the insurance companies to work properly (Blank, Burau & Kuhlmann, 2017). Medical covers given to the employed should be able to cover their families such as wife/husband and children.

Primary care implementation will be one of the best techniques to provide medical healthcare to the aged, physically challenged and the mentally challenged. These services include coming up with evening centers where medical facilities are provided for smaller versions of illness such as flu. These centers will be located in all parts of the country near residential places and also in rural places (Barjis, Kolfschoten & Maritz, 2013). There will be special vehicles that transport the patients to these clinics for medical check-up and medication. Also there will be mobile clinics where special trucks with nurses and doctors are always in transit.

Price control will be implemented on services after a proper audit has been taken. This audit will be able to determine those services in which the patients are overcharged. There will be a maximum price charged on each service so as these services are accessible to all the patients. When price control is applied, there will be reduced malice within the hospitals and other medical facilities thus there will be a regular salary structure (Ashrafi, Kelleher & Kuilboer, 2014). There will be defined salary for each and every individual and also the incomes for the hospitals and other similar facilities will be regular.

In conclusion, the healthcare system can be a perfect one if it enhances accessibility. The best way to decrease the cost of drugs is by reducing the taxation on drugs which are imported and also those that are manufactured locally. Also price controls must be applied to drug companies. This applies to the overpriced drugs whose actual prices are determined through research. These drugs companies will be encouraged through reduced taxation on drugs to develop more medicinal drugs that will help in treatment. In order to reduce administration costs, there will be the factor of merging of roles. Individuals who are able to merge roles will be employed thus the number of employees will reduce.