Introduction
Healthcare is one of the cornerstones that demonstrate a country’s level of development. Over the recent past, the cost of healthcare in the United States has been rising. The rising cost has led to a debate among scholars. On one hand, some scholars argue that the government needs to control the rising cost. The scholars who support government intervention and cost control using increasing expenditures, low quality of care, strained population, and limited access to healthcare to substantiate their argument. On the other hand, some researchers claim that healthcare is a sector that does not need control in relation to expenditure because it can affect the quality of services accorded to the population. It is within this backdrop that the essay discusses the reasons why the government should control the rising cost of healthcare and disagrees with the notion that the cost of healthcare should not be controlled.
Why the Healthcare Cost Should Be Contained
Without control, the cost of healthcare in the United States will eventually be out of reach for several middle-class populations. Research has indicated that the current cost of healthcare in the United States stands at about $3 trillion annually, a figure that is way above that of several western countries (Popescu, 2014). In the absence of proper control and well-designed focus on the quality of medical attention received by patients, the outcome may be high cost and minimal care in medical centers. According to Jacobs and Skocpol (2015), medical centers in the United States need to associate their services with the price. The need to relate the price with the quality is because the present healthcare sector has prices that do not resonate with the quality of care. Therefore, the essay uses the improved quality of healthcare, reduced strain on the population, and enhanced accessibility to justify the essence of controlling the rising cost of healthcare.
Improved Quality of Care and Reduced Strain on the Population
Control of healthcare costs is one of the ways that improve the quality of medical attention that citizens of the United States receive. Presently, a number of healthcare facilities focus much on the revenues in place of medical attention. As such, it is chief to allude that the intervention of the government to control the cost and relate it with value helps shift the focus from revenue to care. Fundamentally, controlling the cost of healthcare implies that the government will look for alternative avenues that advance the quality while ensuring that the cost is within the reach of the low and middle-class individuals in society. In the words of Popescu (2014), the focus held by medical practitioners in the United States is misplaced on the revenues and not on the quality of care accorded to individuals. Consequently, by controlling the cost of treatment and medical attention, the focus of medical practitioners will shift towards improved care, a phenomenon that resonates well with the price.
Currently, several people living in the United States spend an increasing part of their earnings on medical expenses. The individuals incur these expenses when they visit medical centers or in the process of settling bills that provide medical insurance. In as much as the medical insurances take a large amount of the earnings, they provide limited medical cover to the United States citizens (Jacobs & Skocpol, 2015). As a result, the overall strain experienced by the populations living in the United States is high. By controlling the cost of healthcare, the expenditure incurred by several people in the country will reduce. Reduced expenditure implies that the strain, which these individuals face each time they require medical attention, decreases. Notably, in the quest to minimize the cost of healthcare and reduce train on its population, the government of the United States can introduce a medical cover that provides comprehensive cover to all citizens at a minimal cost.
Enhanced Access
Enhanced access to medical attention is among the factors that justify the essence of controlling healthcare costs. In effect, enhanced access occasions when the government looks into mechanisms that minimize cost while addressing the augmenting demand for healthcare in the United States. One of the arguments presented by scholars such as Ferguson (2013) is the establishment of community health facilities that address the needs of the elderly and other individuals who cannot access major hospitals. By establishing community health centers, the overall access to medical attention increases while the cost of care decreases. As a result, it is important for the government to utilize these measures as it controls the cost of healthcare.
Conclusion
The rising cost of healthcare in the United States is a factor that calls for timely intervention. While healthcare is crucial, failing to manage its pricing can lead to inefficiencies. In the United States, individuals are increasingly paying for services that do not resonate with their value. The healthcare practitioners have shifted their focus from attention to revenues. The shift in focus can change in the advent of well-designed control mechanisms initiated by the government. The United States needs to institute frameworks that minimize healthcare costs and shift the attention of medical practitioners in private and public medical centers. With the right control interventions, the cost of healthcare decreases, and the quality augments. Therefore, it is in order for the government of the United States to control the cost of healthcare.
References
Ferguson, E. (2013). American healthcare reform: Fixing the real problems. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.
Jacobs, L., & Skocpol, T. (2015). Health care reform and American politics: What everyone needs to know. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Popescu, G. (2014). Economic aspects influencing the rising costs of health care in the United States. American Journal of Medical Research, 1(1), 47-47.