Increasingly Expensive Healthcare

Question: Discuss about theIncreasingly Expensive Healthcare. Answer: Introduction Healthcare essentially refers to the whole process concerned about improving the health of human beings through diagnosing, treating as well as managing diseases, often delivered by health professionals. Despite the value of healthcare, it is paradoxical that it is becoming increasingly expensive such that few people can afford it. For instance, in the U.S, approximately 18% of the gross domestic product was channeled towards healthcare services in 2012 (Berry, 2011). The spending has consistently risen through the years. In the first quarter of 2014, it is estimated that healthcare spending rose by 9.9 percent (Berry, 2011). This essay will focus on discussing some of the reasons leading to rising healthcare costs including the prevalence of chronic diseases/ageing population and high premiums administered by health insurance companies. It will as well suggest solutions that can counters the rising healthcare cots including the universal health care plan and education. Causes of Increasingly Expensive Healthcare One of the reasons that have led to the increasingly expensive healthcare is the healthcare insurance plans (Aldhous Giles, 2009). It is apparent that most health insurance plans are offering healthcare plans that charge hefty premiums to its consumers. Regardless of their expensiveness, these premiums are exclusive of co-pays and deductibles. The high premiums have made it hard for most individuals to even seek preventative care. The second reason why the healthcare is increasingly becoming expensive is the prevalence of chronic illnesses including diabetes and obesity. Apparently, the upsurge of chronic diseases across the world is alarming. In the U.S for example, obesity and diabetes have become the major concerns of the nation. Over the years, child and adult obesity have consistently increased mainly due to the bad lifestyles. The rate of obesity in America back in 2008 was 32.2 percent for male adults and 35.5 percent for female adults (Johnson, Chumlea, Czerwinski, Demerath, 2011). The increased prevalence of chronic diseases results in heavy government expenditure in efforts to combat the menace. Solutions Regardless of the increasingly expensive healthcare, there are possible solutios to this menace. The solutions include education as well as establishment of universal healthcare plan(Relman, 2007). The government in partnership with healthcare system should come up with educations programs aimed at teaching the public regarding the link between lifestyles and diseases. These programs will make the public become aware that some lifestyles contribute to the development of some chronic disease like obesity and diabetes thus improve their lifestyles to avoid them. Universal healthcare plan can be an effective solution to increasingly expensive healthcare ( Kaestner, Lo, Helmchen, Blank, Valdmanis, 2007). The government can enact laws that abolish deductibles or cap the maximum premiums that healthcare insurance companies put on their consumers. Evaluation of Solutions Upon assessing the solutions above, universal healthcare plans is the most effective method to cap increasingly expensive healthcare (Relman, 2007). It is evident that insurance companies have had a lot of to increase their premiums each and every time without moderations. These increased premiums are the major contributors to ever increasing costs of healthcare. As such, by rolling out universal healthcare plans, the government will cut down the cots caused by healthcare insurance companies (Relman, 2007). Conclusion In conclusion, it is clear that healthcare has become expensive over the years. High insurance premiums and the upsurge of chronic illness are the main reasons to this trend. However, administering universal healthcare plans and educations programs are the possible solutions to expensive healthcare. References Aldhous,P., Giles,J. (2009). Insight: why expensive US healthcare is not world-beating. New Scientist, 203(2719), 7. doi:10.1016/s0262-4079(09)61994-1 Berry,D.J. (2011). Drivers Of High US Health Care Costs. Health Affairs, 30(12), 2457-2457. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.1193 Johnson,W., Chumlea,W.C., Czerwinski,S.A., Demerath,E.W. (2011). Concordance of the Recently Published Body Adiposity Index With Measured Body Fat Percent in European-American Adults. Obesity, 20(4), 900-903. doi:10.1038/oby.2011.346 Kaestner,R., Lo,S.A., Helmchen,L., Blank,J.L., Valdmanis,V.G. (2007). Evaluating hospital policy and performance: Contributions from hospital policy and productivity research. Bingley, U.K: Emerald. Relman,A.S. (2007). A second opinion: Rescuing America's healthcare : a plan for universal coverage serving patients over profit. New York: PublicAffairs.