Question

DDiscuss the major factors contributing to the high costs of healthcare and why they are important. iscuss the major factors contributing to the high costs of healthcare and why they are important.

Answer 1

The main factors that contribute to the increasing health care costs are stated below=

fee-for-service (FFS) is one of the main elements that results in the increased cost of healthcare services as a number of tests are being conducted irrespective whether they are required or not. This is important to know as it will help in controlling the various tests that are suggested to be conducted by the service providers.

The service providers are paid on the basis of the volume rather than the patient outcomes and thus there are very fewer incentives to have the proper coordination with the more efficient care.

There will also be a factor of the increased age of the population and it can cause a misbalance in the demand and supply of the healthcare services and thus increasing the cost of these services.

The medical field requires a continuous investment in the development of technology and R&D and it has to be recovered from the cost of healthcare services.

There is no transparency in the cost of healthcare which makes it tough to manage the cost of healthcare services.

The threat of various lawsuits due to the incorrect diagnosis results in unwanted medical tests to be conducted. This is important to understand as to provide legal safeguarding to the health care providers so that they do not suggest unrequired tests and thus increasing thus cost