Health care is becoming more and more important to the economic well-being of communities in the United States. Businesses can get a competitive advantage with healthy, productive employees and contained health care costs. Good health and contained costs bring a community's taxpayers more financial stability as well as a better quality of life. In addition, the growth of the health care sector brings opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs to create more economic growth. The healthcare industry worldwide is a complex set of both in the United States and globally, is a complex set of many sectors. It is impacted by government regulations, government agencies, and healthcare reform, as well as the rising costs of healthcare. However, beyond those constant challenges the healthcare industry also represents a sector of the economy that can grow and expand their businesses in a range of economic environments.
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There is a great deal of innovation, research and development, new drug discoveries, new medical device technologies that can represent investment opportunities. There are so many areas where the health care field can expand. The goal of healthcare organizations is to achieve better health outcomes while avoiding unnecessary costs. People cannot access health care until they are very ill or critically ill, in which case all of us, ourselves and other hospital systems, take care of those individuals. The problem with that from an economic point of view is that you have now allowed these individuals to get so ill that their treatment and their care is very expensive. An economic initiative I propose is for the hospital/organization to expand health insurance coverage to promote access and lower healthcare costs to the community as well as the organization. Trying to lower cost by cutting prices or covered services will not achieve the best healthcare nor the lowest costs for the community. Improving how care is delivered is essential to achieve this end. These reforms and initiatives are not usually well supported by all fee-for-service- payments, traditional insurance benefit designs, or current health care regulators. “Healthcare organizations need to focus on healthcare policy reforms, reforms in the private sector, and public-private collaborations to support providers and patients in their efforts to get to better care” (McClellan, 2013, p.1). The hospital needs to collaborate with these insurance companies and other large and small companies who participate in this aspect of the healthcare industry, and continuously improve the treatment options and outcomes for patients across a large set of health conditions. “A good healthcare system is vital. It means the population has access to combat illness and therefore, there are no financial burdens, because of healthcare, on the country and the individual, due to a reliable workforce. This generates a thriving economy” (Lee-Simon, 2017, p.1) The demand for healthcare services is at an all time high. Its growth is being driven by increasing numbers of older people and by the expansion of the global middle class. As these two groups grow, the higher levels of healthcare they demand will cause seismic shifts in the amount of money being spent in the health sector, driving employment. The supply of health care professionals is low. Not many newly graduated physicians are entering into the primary care practice arena. “On the supply side, of particular concern is the large number of aging physicians heading into retirement. These physicians are
There is a great deal of innovation, research and development, new drug discoveries, new medical device technologies that can represent investment opportunities. There are so many areas where the health care field can expand. The goal of healthcare organizations is to achieve better health outcomes while avoiding unnecessary costs. People cannot access health care until they are very ill or critically ill, in which case all of us, ourselves and other hospital systems, take care of those individuals. The problem with that from an economic point of view is that you have now allowed these individuals to get so ill that their treatment and their care is very expensive. An economic initiative I propose is for the hospital/organization to expand health insurance coverage to promote access and lower healthcare costs to the community as well as the organization. Trying to lower cost by cutting prices or covered services will not achieve the best healthcare nor the lowest costs for the community. Improving how care is delivered is essential to achieve this end. These reforms and initiatives are not usually well supported by all fee-for-service- payments, traditional insurance benefit designs, or current health care regulators. “Healthcare organizations need to focus on healthcare policy reforms, reforms in the private sector, and public-private collaborations to support providers and patients in their efforts to get to better care” (McClellan, 2013, p.1). The hospital needs to collaborate with these insurance companies and other large and small companies who participate in this aspect of the healthcare industry, and continuously improve the treatment options and outcomes for patients across a large set of health conditions. “A good healthcare system is vital. It means the population has access to combat illness and therefore, there are no financial burdens, because of healthcare, on the country and the individual, due to a reliable workforce. This generates a thriving economy” (Lee-Simon, 2017, p.1) The demand for healthcare services is at an all time high. Its growth is being driven by increasing numbers of older people and by the expansion of the global middle class. As these two groups grow, the higher levels of healthcare they demand will cause seismic shifts in the amount of money being spent in the health sector, driving employment. The supply of health care professionals is low. Not many newly graduated physicians are entering into the primary care practice arena. “On the supply side, of particular concern is the large number of aging physicians heading into retirement. These physicians are