Lowering Health Care Costs Essay - 1027 Words

Health care expenditures is an increasing proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries as its share in GDP increased by an average of nearly 2 percent annually in last 40 years. Health care expenditures in the US increased 6.2 on average annually between 1991 and 2011. Health care spending consisted 17.9 percent of GDP in the US in 2011. There are many elements affecting increases in health care costs. The proportion of old people in the US population increases and aging population can raise health care expenditures. Because, compared to younger people, older people use more health care services as they are more likely to have non-communicable diseases. Non-communicable†¦show more content†¦It takes a long time to increase the supply of health care professionals. Health care costs were soon rising rapidly. As a result, health care expenditures as a percent of GDP increased from 5 percent to 16 percent (Finkelstein, 2005) There are many policies discussed in the literature for reducing health care costs. I argue that preventive health care is the most efficient way to decrease health care costs. Preventive health care can be defined as services to prevent people from diseases, or before they become more expensive to treat or cure. Health promotion efforts and personal self-care constitutes primary level of preventive health care. Treatment services are curative and rehabilitative care services for curing or slowing down a health problem which has already started. Preventive health care is an effective way of lowering health care costs. Health promotion and disease prevention provides a healthy population with reduced health risks, and helps businesses to save money by participating in these programs (Goetzel, 2009). Preventive health care involves a wide range of interventions which help for maintaining good health habits, reducing the incidence of disease and disability, and slowing the progress of illnesses. These interventions can include providing childhood immunizations, raising taxes on cigarettes,Show MoreRelatedPatient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Ppaca)1014 Words   |  5 Pagesand Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010 and to discuss its potential impact on healthcare access, costs and quality, and insurance companies. . II. Healthcare Reform Timeline The PPACA includes comprehensive reforms that will take place over the next four years. 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