Economic Trends Of The Health Care Payment System

Economic Trends of the Healthcare Payment System: Navigating a Shifting Landscape

Introduction:

The healthcare payment system is in constant flux, a dynamic landscape shaped by technological advancements, evolving demographics, and shifting policy priorities. Understanding the economic trends within this system is crucial for policymakers, healthcare providers, insurers, and even individual patients. This comprehensive guide delves into the key economic trends influencing healthcare payments, exploring their implications and potential future directions. We'll examine rising costs, the growth of value-based care, the impact of technology, and the challenges of ensuring equitable access. Prepare to navigate the complexities and opportunities within the ever-evolving world of healthcare finance.


1. The Persistent Problem of Rising Healthcare Costs:

Healthcare costs in most developed nations continue their relentless upward trajectory. This isn't simply inflation; it's a complex issue driven by several factors:

Technological advancements: While improving patient outcomes, new technologies like advanced imaging and pharmaceuticals often come with high price tags. The cost of developing and deploying these technologies contributes significantly to overall expenditure.
Aging population: As populations age, the demand for healthcare services, particularly long-term care, increases dramatically, placing further strain on the system. Chronic disease management also adds considerable cost.
Administrative complexities: The administrative burden associated with billing, insurance claims processing, and regulatory compliance adds a substantial layer of expense to the system. Streamlining these processes could yield significant savings.
Prescription drug prices: The cost of prescription drugs, particularly specialty pharmaceuticals, is a major driver of healthcare inflation. Negotiating drug prices and promoting generic alternatives are key areas of ongoing debate.
Defensive medicine: Physicians may order more tests and procedures than strictly necessary to protect themselves against malpractice lawsuits, contributing to increased costs.


2. The Rise of Value-Based Care:

In response to rising costs and concerns about quality, value-based care (VBC) models are gaining traction. VBC shifts the focus from fee-for-service (FFS) – where providers are paid for each service rendered – to rewarding providers for achieving better patient outcomes and managing overall healthcare costs. This involves:

Bundled payments: Providers receive a single payment for a specific episode of care, incentivizing efficiency and coordination.
Accountable care organizations (ACOs): Groups of providers coordinate care for a defined population, sharing in the financial rewards or penalties based on their collective performance.
Capitation: Providers receive a fixed payment per patient per period, regardless of the services provided, encouraging preventative care and efficient resource utilization.
Performance-based reimbursement: Payments are tied to the achievement of specific quality metrics, such as patient satisfaction, readmission rates, and adherence to clinical guidelines.

3. The Transformative Impact of Technology:

Technology is reshaping healthcare payment systems in several ways:

Telehealth: Remote consultations and monitoring reduce the need for in-person visits, potentially lowering costs while improving access to care, particularly in rural areas.
Big data and analytics: Analyzing large datasets can identify patterns in healthcare utilization, predict future needs, and optimize resource allocation.
Artificial intelligence (AI): AI-powered tools can automate administrative tasks, improve diagnostic accuracy, and personalize treatment plans, potentially leading to cost savings and improved outcomes.
Blockchain technology: Blockchain offers the potential to enhance the security and transparency of healthcare transactions, reducing fraud and improving efficiency.


4. The Challenge of Ensuring Equitable Access:

Despite advancements in healthcare, ensuring equitable access remains a significant challenge. Economic trends often exacerbate existing health disparities:

Insurance coverage: Lack of health insurance or inadequate coverage leaves many individuals unable to afford necessary care.
Geographic disparities: Access to quality healthcare varies significantly depending on location, with rural and underserved communities often facing significant barriers.
Socioeconomic factors: Poverty, lack of education, and other socioeconomic factors contribute to poorer health outcomes and limited access to care.
Health literacy: Limited health literacy can prevent individuals from understanding their healthcare options and navigating the complex payment system.


5. Future Directions and Emerging Trends:

The future of healthcare payment systems will likely involve a continued shift toward value-based care, greater integration of technology, and a renewed focus on equity. We can anticipate:

Increased use of predictive analytics: More sophisticated data analysis will help anticipate healthcare needs and proactively manage risk.
Expansion of telehealth services: Telehealth will become increasingly integrated into routine care delivery.
Greater emphasis on patient engagement: Empowering patients to actively participate in their care decisions will improve outcomes and potentially reduce costs.
Focus on social determinants of health: Addressing factors like housing, food security, and transportation that impact health will become increasingly important.


Article Outline: Economic Trends of the Healthcare Payment System

I. Introduction: Overview of healthcare payment system dynamics and the article's scope.
II. Rising Healthcare Costs: Examination of the drivers of increasing healthcare expenditures.
III. The Rise of Value-Based Care: Discussion of VBC models and their impact on cost and quality.
IV. Technological Transformations: Analysis of technology's role in reshaping the payment system.
V. Ensuring Equitable Access: Addressing challenges in providing equal access to healthcare.
VI. Future Directions and Emerging Trends: Predictions and potential developments in the field.
VII. Conclusion: Summary of key trends and their implications.


(The body of the article above fulfills the points outlined here.)


FAQs:

1. What is the biggest driver of rising healthcare costs? A combination of factors, including technological advancements, an aging population, administrative complexities, and prescription drug prices, all contribute significantly.

2. How does value-based care differ from fee-for-service? VBC focuses on outcomes and cost efficiency, while FFS compensates providers for each service rendered.

3. What role does technology play in controlling healthcare costs? Technology offers opportunities for cost savings through telehealth, data analytics, AI, and improved efficiency.

4. How can we address inequities in healthcare access? Solutions include expanding insurance coverage, addressing geographic disparities, and focusing on social determinants of health.

5. What are the potential benefits of bundled payments? Bundled payments incentivize providers to coordinate care and manage costs more effectively.

6. What are the challenges of implementing value-based care? Challenges include data collection, measurement of outcomes, and provider buy-in.

7. How can AI improve healthcare payment systems? AI can automate administrative tasks, personalize treatment, and improve diagnostic accuracy.

8. What is the impact of an aging population on healthcare costs? An aging population increases demand for healthcare services, particularly long-term care, significantly increasing costs.

9. What are the potential future trends in healthcare payment systems? Future trends include increased use of predictive analytics, expanded telehealth, greater patient engagement, and a focus on social determinants of health.


Related Articles:

1. The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Healthcare Costs: An analysis of the ACA's effect on access and affordability.
2. Value-Based Care: A Comprehensive Guide: A detailed explanation of different VBC models and their implementation.
3. The Role of Telehealth in Reducing Healthcare Costs: Exploration of telehealth's potential for cost savings and improved access.
4. Big Data and Analytics in Healthcare: Improving Efficiency and Outcomes: How data analytics can optimize healthcare delivery and payment.
5. Addressing Healthcare Disparities: Strategies for Equitable Access: A discussion of strategies to improve healthcare equity.
6. The Future of Healthcare: Predictions and Trends: A look at the long-term outlook for the healthcare industry.
7. The Economics of Prescription Drug Pricing: An in-depth examination of drug pricing and its impact on healthcare costs.
8. Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs): A Deep Dive: An analysis of ACOs and their role in value-based care.
9. Blockchain Technology in Healthcare: Enhancing Security and Transparency: How blockchain can improve the security and efficiency of healthcare transactions.


  economic trends of the health care payment system: The Future of Nursing 2020-2030 National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine, Committee on the Future of Nursing 2020-2030, 2021-09-30 The decade ahead will test the nation's nearly 4 million nurses in new and complex ways. Nurses live and work at the intersection of health, education, and communities. Nurses work in a wide array of settings and practice at a range of professional levels. They are often the first and most frequent line of contact with people of all backgrounds and experiences seeking care and they represent the largest of the health care professions. A nation cannot fully thrive until everyone - no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they make - can live their healthiest possible life, and helping people live their healthiest life is and has always been the essential role of nurses. Nurses have a critical role to play in achieving the goal of health equity, but they need robust education, supportive work environments, and autonomy. Accordingly, at the request of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, on behalf of the National Academy of Medicine, an ad hoc committee under the auspices of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine conducted a study aimed at envisioning and charting a path forward for the nursing profession to help reduce inequities in people's ability to achieve their full health potential. The ultimate goal is the achievement of health equity in the United States built on strengthened nursing capacity and expertise. By leveraging these attributes, nursing will help to create and contribute comprehensively to equitable public health and health care systems that are designed to work for everyone. The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity explores how nurses can work to reduce health disparities and promote equity, while keeping costs at bay, utilizing technology, and maintaining patient and family-focused care into 2030. This work builds on the foundation set out by The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health (2011) report.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Managed Competition , 1993-07 Pamphlet from the vertical file.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century Institute of Medicine, Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Committee on Assuring the Health of the Public in the 21st Century, 2003-02-01 The anthrax incidents following the 9/11 terrorist attacks put the spotlight on the nation's public health agencies, placing it under an unprecedented scrutiny that added new dimensions to the complex issues considered in this report. The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century reaffirms the vision of Healthy People 2010, and outlines a systems approach to assuring the nation's health in practice, research, and policy. This approach focuses on joining the unique resources and perspectives of diverse sectors and entities and challenges these groups to work in a concerted, strategic way to promote and protect the public's health. Focusing on diverse partnerships as the framework for public health, the book discusses: The need for a shift from an individual to a population-based approach in practice, research, policy, and community engagement. The status of the governmental public health infrastructure and what needs to be improved, including its interface with the health care delivery system. The roles nongovernment actors, such as academia, business, local communities and the media can play in creating a healthy nation. Providing an accessible analysis, this book will be important to public health policy-makers and practitioners, business and community leaders, health advocates, educators and journalists.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Health-Care Utilization as a Proxy in Disability Determination National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Health and Medicine Division, Board on Health Care Services, Committee on Health Care Utilization and Adults with Disabilities, 2018-04-02 The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two programs that provide benefits based on disability: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. This report analyzes health care utilizations as they relate to impairment severity and SSA's definition of disability. Health Care Utilization as a Proxy in Disability Determination identifies types of utilizations that might be good proxies for listing-level severity; that is, what represents an impairment, or combination of impairments, that are severe enough to prevent a person from doing any gainful activity, regardless of age, education, or work experience.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: The Economics of Public Health Care Reform in Advanced and Emerging Economies Mr.David Coady, Mr.Benedict J. Clements, Mr.Sanjeev Gupta, 2012-04-13 Using cross-country analysis and case studies, this book provides new insights and potential policy responses for the key fiscal policy challenges that both advanced and emerging economies will be facing.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: For-Profit Enterprise in Health Care Institute of Medicine, Committee on Implications of For-Profit Enterprise in Health Care, 1986-01-01 [This book is] the most authoritative assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of recent trends toward the commercialization of health care, says Robert Pear of The New York Times. This major study by the Institute of Medicine examines virtually all aspects of for-profit health care in the United States, including the quality and availability of health care, the cost of medical care, access to financial capital, implications for education and research, and the fiduciary role of the physician. In addition to the report, the book contains 15 papers by experts in the field of for-profit health care covering a broad range of topicsâ€from trends in the growth of major investor-owned hospital companies to the ethical issues in for-profit health care. The report makes a lasting contribution to the health policy literature. â€Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Health Professions Education Institute of Medicine, Board on Health Care Services, Committee on the Health Professions Education Summit, 2003-07-01 The Institute of Medicine study Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001) recommended that an interdisciplinary summit be held to further reform of health professions education in order to enhance quality and patient safety. Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality is the follow up to that summit, held in June 2002, where 150 participants across disciplines and occupations developed ideas about how to integrate a core set of competencies into health professions education. These core competencies include patient-centered care, interdisciplinary teams, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and informatics. This book recommends a mix of approaches to health education improvement, including those related to oversight processes, the training environment, research, public reporting, and leadership. Educators, administrators, and health professionals can use this book to help achieve an approach to education that better prepares clinicians to meet both the needs of patients and the requirements of a changing health care system.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Health System Efficiency Jonathan Cylus, Irene Papanicolas, Peter C. Smith, 2016-12-15 In this book the authors explore the state of the art on efficiency measurement in health systems and international experts offer insights into the pitfalls and potential associated with various measurement techniques. The authors show that: - The core idea of efficiency is easy to understand in principle - maximizing valued outputs relative to inputs, but is often difficult to make operational in real-life situations - There have been numerous advances in data collection and availability, as well as innovative methodological approaches that give valuable insights into how efficiently health care is delivered - Our simple analytical framework can facilitate the development and interpretation of efficiency indicators.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Health at a Glance 2019 OECD Indicators OECD, 2019-11-07 Health at a Glance compares key indicators for population health and health system performance across OECD members, candidate and partner countries. It highlights how countries differ in terms of the health status and health-seeking behaviour of their citizens; access to and quality of health care; and the resources available for health. Analysis is based on the latest comparable data across 80 indicators, with data coming from official national statistics, unless otherwise stated.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Health at a Glance 2021 OECD Indicators OECD, 2021-11-09 Health at a Glance provides a comprehensive set of indicators on population health and health system performance across OECD members and key emerging economies. This edition has a special focus on the health impact of COVID-19 in OECD countries, including deaths and illness caused by the virus, adverse effects on access and quality of care, and the growing burden of mental ill-health.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Fiscal Sustainability of Health Systems Bridging Health and Finance Perspectives OECD, 2015-09-24 The health systems we enjoy today, and expected medical advances in the future, will be difficult to finance from public resources without major reforms. Public health spending in OECD countries has grown rapidly over most of the last half century. These spending increases have contributed to ...
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Retooling for an Aging America Institute of Medicine, Board on Health Care Services, Committee on the Future Health Care Workforce for Older Americans, 2008-08-27 As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. Retooling for an Aging America calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The book also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides. Educators and health professional groups can use Retooling for an Aging America to institute or increase formal education and training in geriatrics. Consumer groups can use the book to advocate for improving the care for older adults. Health care professional and occupational groups can use it to improve the quality of health care jobs.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: The Long-term Outlook for Health Care Spending , 2007
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Transition to Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) Payments for Health Caryn Bredenkamp, Sarah Bales, Kristiina Kahur, 2019-12-19 This book examines how nine different health systems--U.S. Medicare, Australia, Thailand, Kyrgyz Republic, Germany, Estonia, Croatia, China (Beijing) and the Russian Federation--have transitioned to using case-based payments, and especially diagnosis-related groups (DRGs), as part of their provider payment mix for hospital care. It sheds light on why particular technical design choices were made, what enabling investments were pertinent, and what broader political and institutional issues needed to be considered. The strategies used to phase in DRG payment receive special attention. These nine systems have been selected because they represent a variety of different approaches and experiences in DRG transition. They include the innovators who pioneered DRG payment systems (namely the United States and Australia), mature systems (such as Thailand, Germany, and Estonia), and countries where DRG payments were only introduced within the past decade (such as the Russian Federation and China). Each system is examined in detail as a separate case study, with a synthesis distilling the cross-cutting lessons learned. This book should be helpful to those working on health systems that are considering introducing, or are in the early stages of introducing, DRG-based payments into their provider payment mix. It will enhance the reader's understanding of how other countries (or systems) have made that transition, give a sense of the decisions that lie ahead, and offer options that can be considered. It will also be useful to those working in health systems that already include DRG payments in the payment mix but have not yet achieved the anticipated results.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Evidence-Based Medicine and the Changing Nature of Health Care Institute of Medicine, LeighAnne M. Olsen, Elizabeth G. Nabel, J. Michael McGinnis, Mark B. McClellan, 2008-09-06 Drawing on the work of the Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine, the 2007 IOM Annual Meeting assessed some of the rapidly occurring changes in health care related to new diagnostic and treatment tools, emerging genetic insights, the developments in information technology, and healthcare costs, and discussed the need for a stronger focus on evidence to ensure that the promise of scientific discovery and technological innovation is efficiently captured to provide the right care for the right patient at the right time. As new discoveries continue to expand the universe of medical interventions, treatments, and methods of care, the need for a more systematic approach to evidence development and application becomes increasingly critical. Without better information about the effectiveness of different treatment options, the resulting uncertainty can lead to the delivery of services that may be unnecessary, unproven, or even harmful. Improving the evidence-base for medicine holds great potential to increase the quality and efficiency of medical care. The Annual Meeting, held on October 8, 2007, brought together many of the nation's leading authorities on various aspects of the issues - both challenges and opportunities - to present their perspectives and engage in discussion with the IOM membership.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Moral Hazard in Health Insurance Amy Finkelstein, 2014-12-02 Addressing the challenge of covering heath care expenses—while minimizing economic risks. Moral hazard—the tendency to change behavior when the cost of that behavior will be borne by others—is a particularly tricky question when considering health care. Kenneth J. Arrow’s seminal 1963 paper on this topic (included in this volume) was one of the first to explore the implication of moral hazard for health care, and Amy Finkelstein—recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on the topic—here examines this issue in the context of contemporary American health care policy. Drawing on research from both the original RAND Health Insurance Experiment and her own research, including a 2008 Health Insurance Experiment in Oregon, Finkelstein presents compelling evidence that health insurance does indeed affect medical spending and encourages policy solutions that acknowledge and account for this. The volume also features commentaries and insights from other renowned economists, including an introduction by Joseph P. Newhouse that provides context for the discussion, a commentary from Jonathan Gruber that considers provider-side moral hazard, and reflections from Joseph E. Stiglitz and Kenneth J. Arrow. “Reads like a fireside chat among a group of distinguished, articulate health economists.” —Choice
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Handbook of EHealth Evaluation Francis Yin Yee Lau, Craig Kuziemsky, 2016-11 To order please visit https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/press/books/ordering/
  economic trends of the health care payment system: The Global Findex Database 2017 Asli Demirguc-Kunt, Leora Klapper, Dorothe Singer, Saniya Ansar, 2018-04-19 In 2011 the World Bank—with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—launched the Global Findex database, the world's most comprehensive data set on how adults save, borrow, make payments, and manage risk. Drawing on survey data collected in collaboration with Gallup, Inc., the Global Findex database covers more than 140 economies around the world. The initial survey round was followed by a second one in 2014 and by a third in 2017. Compiled using nationally representative surveys of more than 150,000 adults age 15 and above in over 140 economies, The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution includes updated indicators on access to and use of formal and informal financial services. It has additional data on the use of financial technology (or fintech), including the use of mobile phones and the Internet to conduct financial transactions. The data reveal opportunities to expand access to financial services among people who do not have an account—the unbanked—as well as to promote greater use of digital financial services among those who do have an account. The Global Findex database has become a mainstay of global efforts to promote financial inclusion. In addition to being widely cited by scholars and development practitioners, Global Findex data are used to track progress toward the World Bank goal of Universal Financial Access by 2020 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The database, the full text of the report, and the underlying country-level data for all figures—along with the questionnaire, the survey methodology, and other relevant materials—are available at www.worldbank.org/globalfindex.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Employment and Health Benefits Institute of Medicine, Committee on Employment-Based Health Benefits, 1993-02-01 The United States is unique among economically advanced nations in its reliance on employers to provide health benefits voluntarily for workers and their families. Although it is well known that this system fails to reach millions of these individuals as well as others who have no connection to the work place, the system has other weaknesses. It also has many advantages. Because most proposals for health care reform assume some continued role for employers, this book makes an important contribution by describing the strength and limitations of the current system of employment-based health benefits. It provides the data and analysis needed to understand the historical, social, and economic dynamics that have shaped present-day arrangements and outlines what might be done to overcome some of the access, value, and equity problems associated with current employer, insurer, and government policies and practices. Health insurance terminology is often perplexing, and this volume defines essential concepts clearly and carefully. Using an array of primary sources, it provides a store of information on who is covered for what services at what costs, on how programs vary by employer size and industry, and on what governments doâ€and do not doâ€to oversee employment-based health programs. A case study adapted from real organizations' experiences illustrates some of the practical challenges in designing, managing, and revising benefit programs. The sometimes unintended and unwanted consequences of employer practices for workers and health care providers are explored. Understanding the concepts of risk, biased risk selection, and risk segmentation is fundamental to sound health care reform. This volume thoroughly examines these key concepts and how they complicate efforts to achieve efficiency and equity in health coverage and health care. With health care reform at the forefront of public attention, this volume will be important to policymakers and regulators, employee benefit managers and other executives, trade associations, and decisionmakers in the health insurance industry, as well as analysts, researchers, and students of health policy.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Hidden Costs, Value Lost Institute of Medicine, Board on Health Care Services, Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance, 2003-06-19 Hidden Cost, Value Lost, the fifth of a series of six books on the consequences of uninsurance in the United States, illustrates some of the economic and social losses to the country of maintaining so many people without health insurance. The book explores the potential economic and societal benefits that could be realized if everyone had health insurance on a continuous basis, as people over age 65 currently do with Medicare. Hidden Costs, Value Lost concludes that the estimated benefits across society in health years of life gained by providing the uninsured with the kind and amount of health services that the insured use, are likely greater than the additional social costs of doing so. The potential economic value to be gained in better health outcomes from uninterrupted coverage for all Americans is estimated to be between $65 and $130 billion each year.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: The Changing Economics of Medical Technology Institute of Medicine, Committee on Technological Innovation in Medicine, 1991-02-01 Americans praise medical technology for saving lives and improving health. Yet, new technology is often cited as a key factor in skyrocketing medical costs. This volume, second in the Medical Innovation at the Crossroads series, examines how economic incentives for innovation are changing and what that means for the future of health care. Up-to-date with a wide variety of examples and case studies, this book explores how payment, patent, and regulatory policiesâ€as well as the involvement of numerous government agenciesâ€affect the introduction and use of new pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and surgical procedures. The volume also includes detailed comparisons of policies and patterns of technological innovation in Western Europe and Japan. This fact-filled and practical book will be of interest to economists, policymakers, health administrators, health care practitioners, and the concerned public.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Health at a Glance 2015 OECD Indicators OECD, 2015-11-04 This book presents the most recent comparable data on the performance of health systems in OECD and certain partner countries. It includes a dashboard of health indicators, a special focus chapter on the pharmaceutical sector, and indicators on health workforce migration and health care quality.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Rewarding Provider Performance Institute of Medicine, Board on Health Care Services, Committee on Redesigning Health Insurance Performance Measures, Payment, and Performance Improvement Programs, 2007-02-17 The third installment in the Pathways to Quality Health Care series, Rewarding Provider Performance: Aligning Incentives in Medicare, continues to address the timely topic of the quality of health care in America. Each volume in the series effectively evaluates specific policy approaches within the context of improving the current operational framework of the health care system. The theme of this particular book is the staged introduction of pay for performance into Medicare. Pay for performance is a strategy that financially rewards health care providers for delivering high-quality care. Building on the findings and recommendations described in the two companion editions, Performance Measurement and Medicare's Quality Improvement Organization Program, this book offers options for implementing payment incentives to provide better value for America's health care investments. This book features conclusions and recommendations that will be useful to all stakeholders concerned with improving the quality and performance of the nation's health care system in both the public and private sectors.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Economic Crisis, Health Systems and Health in Europe Sarah Thomson, Josep Figueras, Matthew Jowett, Tamás Evetovits, Philipa Mladovsky, Anna Maresso, Jonathan Cylus, Marina Karanikolos, Hans Kluge, 2015-07 Economic shocks pose a threat to health and health system performance by increasing people's need for health care and making access to care more difficult - a situation compounded by cuts in public spending on health and other social services. But these negative effects can be avoided by timely public policy action. While important public policy levers lie outside the health sector, in the hands of those responsible for fiscal policy and social protection, the health system response is critical. This book looks at how health systems in Europe reacted to pressure created by the financial and economic crisis that began in 2008. Drawing on the experience of over 45 countries, the authors:' analyse health system responses to the crisis in three policy areas: public funding for the health system; health coverage; and health service planning, purchasing and delivery 'assess the impact of these responses on health systems and population health' identify policies most likely to sustain the performance of health systems facing financial pressure' explore the political economy of implementing reforms in a crisisThe book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the choices available to policy-makers - and the implications of failing to protect health and health-system performance - in the face of economic and other forms of shock.--
  economic trends of the health care payment system: The Fourth Industrial Revolution Klaus Schwab, 2017-01-03 World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolu­tion, which will fundamentally alter how we live and work. Schwab argues that this revolution is different in scale, scope and complexity from any that have come before. Characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the developments are affecting all disciplines, economies, industries and governments, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. Artificial intelligence is already all around us, from supercomputers, drones and virtual assistants to 3D printing, DNA sequencing, smart thermostats, wear­able sensors and microchips smaller than a grain of sand. But this is just the beginning: nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than a strand of hair and the first transplant of a 3D printed liver are already in development. Imagine “smart factories” in which global systems of manu­facturing are coordinated virtually, or implantable mobile phones made of biosynthetic materials. The fourth industrial revolution, says Schwab, is more significant, and its ramifications more profound, than in any prior period of human history. He outlines the key technologies driving this revolution and discusses the major impacts expected on government, business, civil society and individu­als. Schwab also offers bold ideas on how to harness these changes and shape a better future—one in which technology empowers people rather than replaces them; progress serves society rather than disrupts it; and in which innovators respect moral and ethical boundaries rather than cross them. We all have the opportunity to contribute to developing new frame­works that advance progress.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: The Healthcare Imperative Institute of Medicine, Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine, 2011-01-17 The United States has the highest per capita spending on health care of any industrialized nation but continually lags behind other nations in health care outcomes including life expectancy and infant mortality. National health expenditures are projected to exceed $2.5 trillion in 2009. Given healthcare's direct impact on the economy, there is a critical need to control health care spending. According to The Health Imperative: Lowering Costs and Improving Outcomes, the costs of health care have strained the federal budget, and negatively affected state governments, the private sector and individuals. Healthcare expenditures have restricted the ability of state and local governments to fund other priorities and have contributed to slowing growth in wages and jobs in the private sector. Moreover, the number of uninsured has risen from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008. The Health Imperative: Lowering Costs and Improving Outcomes identifies a number of factors driving expenditure growth including scientific uncertainty, perverse economic and practice incentives, system fragmentation, lack of patient involvement, and under-investment in population health. Experts discussed key levers for catalyzing transformation of the delivery system. A few included streamlined health insurance regulation, administrative simplification and clarification and quality and consistency in treatment. The book is an excellent guide for policymakers at all levels of government, as well as private sector healthcare workers.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: The Future of Public Health Committee for the Study of the Future of Public Health, Division of Health Care Services, Institute of Medicine, 1988-01-15 The Nation has lost sight of its public health goals and has allowed the system of public health to fall into 'disarray', from The Future of Public Health. This startling book contains proposals for ensuring that public health service programs are efficient and effective enough to deal not only with the topics of today, but also with those of tomorrow. In addition, the authors make recommendations for core functions in public health assessment, policy development, and service assurances, and identify the level of government--federal, state, and local--at which these functions would best be handled.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Case-based Payment Systems for Hospital Funding in Asia An Investigation of Current Status and Future Directions OECD, World Health Organization, 2015-11-02 The report focuses on a review of the implementation experience of case-based and DRG mechanisms in the Asia and Pacific region, drawing particularly on research in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Health Systems in Transition Third Edition Gregory P. Marchildon, Sara Allin, Sherry Merkur, 2021-04-21 This book provides insight into how the Canadian health care system is financed and organized, how it has evolved over time, and how well it performs relative to peer countries.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: U.S. Health in International Perspective National Research Council, Institute of Medicine, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, Committee on Population, Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries, 2013-04-12 The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, peer countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Spending Wisely Alexander S. Preker, Jack Langenbrunner, 2005 This publication examines how public spending on health care can be made more efficient and equitable in developing countries, focusing on strategic purchasing and contracting of services from non-governmental providers. It is divided into six sections under the headings of: the conceptual framework; how to make strategic purchasing pro-poor; purchasing health services; purchasing inputs; supply, demand and markets; legal and regulatory issues.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: OECD Health Policy Studies Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes: Policies for Better Health and Quality of Care OECD, 2015-06-17 This report examines how countries perform in their ability to prevent, manage and treat cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Health Care Financing Review , 1995
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Analyzing Health Equity Using Household Survey Data Adam Wagstaff, Owen O'Donnell, Eddy van Doorslaer, Magnus Lindelow, 2007-11-02 Have gaps in health outcomes between the poor and better off grown? Are they larger in one country than another? Are health sector subsidies more equally distributed in some countries than others? Are health care payments more progressive in one health care financing system than another? What are catastrophic payments and how can they be measured? How far do health care payments impoverish households? Answering questions such as these requires quantitative analysis. This in turn depends on a clear understanding of how to measure key variables in the analysis, such as health outcomes, health expenditures, need, and living standards. It also requires set quantitative methods for measuring inequality and inequity, progressivity, catastrophic expenditures, poverty impact, and so on. This book provides an overview of the key issues that arise in the measurement of health variables and living standards, outlines and explains essential tools and methods for distributional analysis, and, using worked examples, shows how these tools and methods can be applied in the health sector. The book seeks to provide the reader with both a solid grasp of the principles underpinning distributional analysis, while at the same time offering hands-on guidance on how to move from principles to practice.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Introduction to Business Lawrence J. Gitman, Carl McDaniel, Amit Shah, Monique Reece, Linda Koffel, Bethann Talsma, James C. Hyatt, 2024-09-16 Introduction to Business covers the scope and sequence of most introductory business courses. The book provides detailed explanations in the context of core themes such as customer satisfaction, ethics, entrepreneurship, global business, and managing change. Introduction to Business includes hundreds of current business examples from a range of industries and geographic locations, which feature a variety of individuals. The outcome is a balanced approach to the theory and application of business concepts, with attention to the knowledge and skills necessary for student success in this course and beyond. This is an adaptation of Introduction to Business by OpenStax. You can access the textbook as pdf for free at openstax.org. Minor editorial changes were made to ensure a better ebook reading experience. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Health Financing in Ghana George Schieber, Cheryl Cashin, Karima Saleh, Rouselle Lavado, 2012-08-30 This volume analyzes Ghana s National Health Insurance Scheme and highlights the range of policy options needed to assure its financially sustainable transition to universal coverage.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Ten Years to Midnight Blair H. Sheppard, 2020-08-04 “Shows how humans have brought us to the brink and how humanity can find solutions. I urge people to read with humility and the daring to act.” —Harpal Singh, former Chair, Save the Children, India, and former Vice Chair, Save the Children International In conversations with people all over the world, from government officials and business leaders to taxi drivers and schoolteachers, Blair Sheppard, global leader for strategy and leadership at PwC, discovered they all had surprisingly similar concerns. In this prescient and pragmatic book, he and his team sum up these concerns in what they call the ADAPT framework: Asymmetry of wealth; Disruption wrought by the unexpected and often problematic consequences of technology; Age disparities--stresses caused by very young or very old populations in developed and emerging countries; Polarization as a symptom of the breakdown in global and national consensus; and loss of Trust in the institutions that underpin and stabilize society. These concerns are in turn precipitating four crises: a crisis of prosperity, a crisis of technology, a crisis of institutional legitimacy, and a crisis of leadership. Sheppard and his team analyze the complex roots of these crises--but they also offer solutions, albeit often seemingly counterintuitive ones. For example, in an era of globalization, we need to place a much greater emphasis on developing self-sustaining local economies. And as technology permeates our lives, we need computer scientists and engineers conversant with sociology and psychology and poets who can code. The authors argue persuasively that we have only a decade to make headway on these problems. But if we tackle them now, thoughtfully, imaginatively, creatively, and energetically, in ten years we could be looking at a dawn instead of darkness.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: China's Healthcare System and Reform Lawton Robert Burns, Gordon G. Liu, 2017-01-26 This volume provides a comprehensive review of China's healthcare system and policy reforms in the context of the global economy. Following a value-chain framework, the 16 chapters cover the payers, the providers, and the producers (manufacturers) in China's system. It also provides a detailed analysis of the historical development of China's healthcare system, the current state of its broad reforms, and the uneasy balance between China's market-driven approach and governmental regulation. Most importantly, it devotes considerable attention to the major problems confronting China, including chronic illness, public health, and long-term care and economic security for the elderly. Burns and Liu have assembled the latest research from leading health economists and political scientists, as well as senior public health officials and corporate executives, making this book an essential read for industry professionals, policymakers, researchers, and students studying comparative health systems across the world.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Capitalism without Capital Jonathan Haskel, Stian Westlake, 2018-10-16 Early in the twenty-first century, a quiet revolution occurred. For the first time, the major developed economies began to invest more in intangible assets, like design, branding, and software, than in tangible assets, like machinery, buildings, and computers. For all sorts of businesses, the ability to deploy assets that one can neither see nor touch is increasingly the main source of long-term success. But this is not just a familiar story of the so-called new economy. Capitalism without Capital shows that the growing importance of intangible assets has also played a role in some of the larger economic changes of the past decade, including the growth in economic inequality and the stagnation of productivity. Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake explore the unusual economic characteristics of intangible investment and discuss how an economy rich in intangibles is fundamentally different from one based on tangibles. Capitalism without Capital concludes by outlining how managers, investors, and policymakers can exploit the characteristics of an intangible age to grow their businesses, portfolios, and economies.
  economic trends of the health care payment system: Global Trends 2040 National Intelligence Council, 2021-03 The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come. -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.