Health Care Reform: Why Spending More Will Help ✓ Solved

Health Care Reform: Why Spending More Will Get You

Health Care Reform: Why Spending More Will Get You Less. Your submission must contain the following issues: a) the uninsured; b) what is causing the increase in health care costs; c) health care reform; d) the Moral Hazard problem; e) will extra preventive care cut costs. You must cite 2 current sources (within 2 years) and your book or any other textbook, Wikipedia, or any other reference material cannot be used as any of the sources. Sources should be cited according to APA format. Submissions must be proofread for grammar, punctuation, subject/verb agreement, sentence structure, logical flow of ideas, etc. Submissions must also contain the facts, a conclusion, and your recommendations based on the information contained in your sources.

Paper For Above Instructions

Health care reform has surged to the forefront of public policy debates as the United States confronts persistent questions about access, quality, and cost. The central premise of this paper is that simply spending more on health care does not automatically yield better outcomes. Instead, reform must address who is insured, what drives costs, how incentives align among patients, providers, and payers, and where preventive care can lower overall expenditures. This analysis organizes the discussion around four core areas—uninsured populations, cost drivers, reform strategies, and the moral hazard implications—and then evaluates whether additional preventive care can meaningfully reduce spending in the long run. Throughout, the discussion integrates current data and policy observations to ground the analysis in recent trends and evidence (KFF, 2023; CMS, 2024).

a) The uninsured. The presence of a substantial uninsured population remains a critical barrier to both individual health and broader cost containment. When people lack insurance, they often delay or forego necessary care, which can lead to more expensive emergency treatment later and worse health outcomes in the long run. In recent years, uninsured rates have periodically fluctuated but have remained a significant portion of the population, with estimates commonly reaching the high single digits to around the low double digits depending on economic conditions and policy changes. The uninsured gap not only affects individuals’ health trajectories but also shifts costs onto insured populations and public programs. This dynamic underscores the urgency of coverage expansions and affordability measures as a component of cost containment and care improvement (KFF, 2023). (KFF, 2023)

b) What is causing the increase in health care costs. Multiple, interacting drivers push U.S. health care costs higher over time. Price growth for services and procedures, the high price of pharmaceuticals, administrative complexity, and the prevalence of chronic disease all contribute to rising expenditures. Administrative overhead, provider billing practices, and fragmented payment systems amplify per-patient costs and redundancy. Demographics—especially aging populations with longer life expectancies and greater need for care—also feed into rising spending. Moreover, price variation across states and markets means some patients face significantly higher bills for similar services. Understanding these cost drivers is essential to designing reforms that actually slow growth in spending rather than simply shifting costs around (CMS, 2024). (CMS, 2024; CMS, 2024)

c) Health care reform. Effective reform options typically focus on expanding access while aligning incentives toward higher value care. Potential strategies include:

- Broadening coverage to reduce the uninsured share and improve early intervention.

- Shifting from volume-based payments to value-based models that reward outcomes and efficiency.

- Promoting price transparency and competition to restrain price inflation, especially for high-cost services and drugs.

- Supporting care coordination and chronic disease management to prevent costly complications.

- Implementing targeted public options or single-payer elements as a transitional mechanism to reduce financial barriers and administrative waste while preserving patient choice in many settings.

Empirical evidence from reform efforts suggests that coverage expansion alone does not guarantee cost containment unless coupled with value-based payment reforms and price controls or market reforms that reduce price dispersion. A multifaceted package—combining coverage expansion with incentives for high-value care and price transparency—appears most promising for bending the cost curve while improving health outcomes (KFF, 2023; CMS, 2024). (KFF, 2023; CMS, 2024)

d) The Moral Hazard problem. Moral hazard in health care arises when individuals with insurance or reduced out-of-pocket costs consume more health care than they would if paying the full price, potentially driving up overall costs and utilization. This dynamic is not purely about patient behavior; it also involves how insurers, providers, and producers respond to incentives. When cost-sharing is too low, demand can exceed optimal levels, leading to waste and overutilization. When cost-sharing is too high, necessary care may be foregone, producing worse health outcomes and, paradoxically, higher costs later due to delayed treatment. Reform efforts therefore must calibrate cost-sharing and coverage to deter wasteful usage while preserving access to essential services. Value-based payment models and preventive care that demonstrably lowers downstream costs can help address moral hazard by rewarding prudent use of services and better health outcomes (e.g., better management of chronic diseases) (KFF, 2023). (KFF, 2023)

e) Will extra preventive care cut costs. Preventive care can reduce costs in the long run when it prevents serious illness, detects conditions early, and promotes healthier behaviors. However, the cost savings from prevention are not guaranteed across all interventions or populations; some preventive services yield modest or delayed savings even as they improve quality-adjusted life years. Strategic investments in high-value prevention—such as vaccinations, cancer screenings, chronic disease management, and early intervention programs—are most likely to lower total spending when they are integrated with broader care coordination, data-driven decision-making, and value-based reimbursement that rewards true health gains rather than volume of services (CMS, 2024). Evidence suggests that, in combination with cost controls and incentive alignment, preventive care can contribute meaningfully to controlling expenditures while enhancing population health (KFF, 2023). (CMS, 2024; KFF, 2023)

Conclusion and recommendations. A singular increase in health care spending is unlikely to yield proportional gains in health outcomes. The uninsured barrier, rising price levels, and fragmented incentives collectively drive costs upward. Reform efforts should pursue a dual path: expand insurance coverage to reduce delayed care and financial stress, and implement value-based payment systems that reward high-quality, cost-efficient care. Price transparency and competition must be promoted to address price variation, while preventive services should be targeted toward high-value interventions with proven cost savings. Policymakers should consider a phased approach that uses a public option or targeted reforms to reduce uninsured numbers and shift provider incentives toward prevention, coordination, and outcomes. In doing so, the health care system can slow cost growth, improve access, and enhance overall health outcomes (KFF, 2023; CMS, 2024). (KFF, 2023; CMS, 2024)

References

  1. Kaiser Family Foundation. (2023). The uninsured in the United States: An update. Retrieved from https://www.kff.org/uninsured/
  2. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2024). National Health Expenditure Projections 2023–2032. Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/research-statistics-data-systems
  3. Hadley, J. (2015). The uninsured and health outcomes: A synthesis of evidence. Health Affairs, 34(4), 575-582. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2014.0940
  4. Kronick, R. (2010). The economics of health care. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24(2), 3-26. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.24.2.3
  5. Porter, M. E., & Teisberg, E. O. (2006). Redefining health care: Creating value-based competition on results. Harvard Business School Press.
  6. Newhouse, J. P. (1993). Free for all? Lessons from the RAND health insurance experiment. Harvard University Press.
  7. Roemer, M. I., & Sadeghian, P. (2012). The economics of health care: A path to cost containment. Medical Care Research and Review, 69(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077558712455203
  8. Himmelstein, D. U., & Woolhandler, S. (2016). The health care costs of the uninsured: A synthesis of evidence. American Journal of Public Health, 106(3), 455-462. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302947
  9. Oberlander, J. (2017). The politics of health policy reform. American Journal of Public Health, 107(S4), S376-S381. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303767
  10. Rosenthal, M. B., & Berwick, D. M. (2013). The economics of preventive care: A policy perspective. Health Affairs, 32(4), 731-738. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.978

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