Potential Consequences of Reducing Healthcare Spending

Potential Consequences of Reducing Healthcare Spending

Potential Consequences of Reducing Healthcare Spending

Current Healthcare Spending

Healthcare spending is affecting the overall economy. Revenue for healthcare in the United States is a mix between various governmental sources, like Medicare and Medicaid and private sources. (Baker, Baker, & Dworkin, 2018). Compared to other industrialized nations, the United States spends twice as much on healthcare and healthcare spending accounted for 18% of the Gross Domestic Product three years ago. (Commins, 2018). Federal spending on healthcare programs is expected to be the largest spending category unless current laws change; due to the aging population as well as the rising cost of health care per person. (Banthin, 2017).

Potential Consequences of Reducing Healthcare Spending

Reduction in health care spending can have multiple consequences. If the Federal government spends less on Medicare and Medicaid services, then it could potentially finance other programs and also reduce the national debt. (Cohn, 2014). The reduction in spending could also benefit individuals and their families by allowing them to see more money in their paychecks and spend money on other necessities. (Cohn, 2014). The current state of health care spending will consume the largest share of the budget and increase debt overall. Therefore, finding ways to reduce health care spending should be priority.

Who Should Make Health Care Spending Decisions

Businesses, consumers, the Federal Government, insurance companies, policy makers and healthcare organizations are just some of the stake holders that should be involved in health care decisions. Health care spending affects different stake holders in different ways, therefore all should be involved in the decisions making in order to reach a decision and benefits all involved, especially patients.

References

Baker, J. J., Baker, R. W., & Dworkin, N. R. (2018). Health care finance basic tools for nonfinancial managers (5 ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.

Banthin, J. (2017). Health care spending today and in the future impacts on federal deficits and debt. Retrieved from

Cohn, J. (2014). The paradox of reducing health care spending. The Milbank Quarterly, 92(4), 656-658.

Commins, J. (2018). Healthcare spending at 20% of GDP? That’s an economy-wide problem. Health Leaders. Retrieved from

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ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

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Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

LopesWrite Policy

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Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.