Epidemiology: Increasing Costs of Health Care Coursework

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

The debate of increasing costs of health care and equally declining levels of earnings seem to be far much from over if the research findings by Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust are anything to go by. As reported in the Los Ageless Times on September 27th, 2011, the national survey indicates that this year’s 9% increase in health care premiums paid by employers is the highest in six years (Helfand, 2011).

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust, health insurance premiums for families, this year rose by an average of $15,073 from $13,770 the previous year. According to Drew Altman who is the president of the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust, both the workers and their employers are an unhappy lot because of the massive decline in the wages for the workers and profits for their employers (Helfand, 2011).

According to the Los Angeles Times, the employers have taken the biggest share of the increase in health care premiums with the workers being forced to dig deeper into their pockets to cater for their share in the premiums, which has increased nearly twofold. In some states like California, there have been intense disagreements between the workers and their employers on whom should pay the biggest share, with each party claiming that the other should do so (Helfand, 2011).

This has led to the recent strike by some workers in California, who argued that their employers were being unfair in passing the extra premiums to them. Health care analysts attribute the surge in the health care insurance premiums to high costs of pharmaceuticals, Medicare as well as the Federal health care policy, which insurers say is costing the health care industry a great deal. However, both employers and workers have a reason to be optimistic because health care analysts predict a remarkable decline in the health care premiums by the start of next year (Helfand, 2011).

According to the statistics on this website, the number of people who need health care has been rising by 100,000 people each year since 2005. This can be attributed to improved health care and treatment, which is making many people have longer lifespans than before. Going by the statistics since 2005, it seems that the number of registered nurses has been constant, leading to a shortfall of 100,000 nurses every year. The supply of nurses is therefore unlikely to change unless some awareness is done among the citizens to persuade them to pursue nursing as a profession.

The demand for nurses will continue rising as it has done since 2005. Each year, the demand has been increasing by 100,000 nurses. It may however decrease if the United States embarks on a serious campaign to create interest in citizens to pursue nursing. The recruitment of nurses is likely to increase due to the increasing demand. More funds are likely to be channeled in the sensitization, recruitment, and training of more nurses to avert the looming crisis of shortage of nurses.

One of the new techniques being used by some hospitals to retain or recruit nurses is offering them high bonuses to the tune of $14,000. This is grossly affecting the public hospitals in that many nurses are moving to private hospitals due to attractive packages with huge bonuses. The people who are most affected by this trend are the poor, who usually go to public hospitals due to their affordability. The poor (especially the elderly) are the worst affected because they are not able to employ their nurses, who apart from being expensive, are also very few.

Reference

Helfand,D.(2011). Premiums for employer-provided health insurance jump. Los Angeles Times.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2022, May 31). Epidemiology: Increasing Costs of Health Care. https://ivypanda.com/essays/epidemiology-increasing-costs-of-health-care/

Work Cited

"Epidemiology: Increasing Costs of Health Care." IvyPanda, 31 May 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/epidemiology-increasing-costs-of-health-care/.

References

IvyPanda. (2022) 'Epidemiology: Increasing Costs of Health Care'. 31 May.

References

IvyPanda. 2022. "Epidemiology: Increasing Costs of Health Care." May 31, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/epidemiology-increasing-costs-of-health-care/.

1. IvyPanda. "Epidemiology: Increasing Costs of Health Care." May 31, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/epidemiology-increasing-costs-of-health-care/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Epidemiology: Increasing Costs of Health Care." May 31, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/epidemiology-increasing-costs-of-health-care/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1