NURS FPX 4000 Assessment 4 Economic and Social Implications of Escalating Healthcare Costs

The economical and social consequences of escalating healthcare costs are the two huge and multifaceted issues. Health care spendings are at an all- time high thereby reducing the amount of resources used for other sectors such as education, infrastructure, and social welfare programs. Such detour may distort the overall economic growth as well as create deepening of income disparities by heavily relying on lower-income people (Baicker & Chandra, 2005). Furthermore, high expenses in the field of public health may discourage entrepreneurial activity and investment which affects innovation and economy (Skinner & Chandra, 2018). Healthcare expenses place a heavy financial strain upon the society, which accentuates socioeconomic inequalities, as well as grants accessing to care for the most vulnerable groups, with the consequence of perpetuating the poverty and ill-health cycles (Gibbons, 2008). Furthermore, a shifting trend towards more expensive healthcare can weaken public trust of healthcare systems and instigate disagreements among healthcare actors (Chang & Gibbons, 2008).

Initiatives to enhance the economic as well as social facets of rising healthcare expenditure demand multifaceted approach which encompasses policy reforms, innovative financing systems and targeted actions. Cost control should be a priority for policymakers, which can be done with the support of value-based care initiatives, price transparent policies, and delivery reforms aimed at improving efficiency and minimizing wastage (Levy, 2016). Besides that, the commitment to disease prevention, public health programs, and social determinants of health can bring about substantial returns by curtailing the chronic conditions primarily caused by indecent lifestyle, promoting population health, and many more. The joint responsibility of governments, health care providers, and insurance companies alongside community services is a vital factor that facilitates the realization of long-term, sustainable solutions which guarantee health care of the best quality while taking care of the socioeconomic determinants of health (Fiscella, n.d).

Exploring Solutions to Address Rising Healthcare Costs

Overcoming the issue of increasing healthcare cost is multi-dimensional, and there must be a coordination of various players and action plans. A possible way has emerged in the form of adopting value-based models of care that primarily focuses on the patient outcomes and quality of care, rather than simply the number of procedures performed for getting remunerations (Porter and Guth, 2012). Improvising the providers to deliver high-caliber, fruitful, and efficient care while aligning payment modes with patient health outcomes, value-based care models could be assumption cured unnecessary healthcare expenses but on the other hand our efficiency and health outcomes of patients will be honored to elevate with a great contribution. Furthermore, the provision of adequate information about cost of healthcare services and drugs would explain the client’s judgment regarding the quality of services which would lead to the willingness to pay and the consequent rise or decline of costs among service providers with the objective of getting consumers.

In addition, investments in health-related innovation and technology might be a rather good tool for increasing operating efficiency and balancing the cost across the whole continuum of care. Included into the sphere of telemedicine, remote monitoring and digital health technology the access to care becomes easier, more treatment steps are getting digitalized, and the patient is allowed to play an important role in self-care. Healthcare organizations can achieve all this by using technology to facilitate virtual consultations to include monitoring patients without their physical visits and broaden their services to include personalized health interventions. In this case, unnecessary healthcare utilization goes down because they are expensive, prevent complications and curb healthcare spending as well. While it is required to strike a balance in the use of digital technologies for improving the cost-effectiveness of health care and population health, equal access to these technologies and sufficient literacy education on their use are the key factors in this.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Cost-Control Measures

Assessing the performance of the cost control measures in healthcare requires careful weighing of their financial stability and the quality of patients’ treatment. Tailored value-linked payment slates, which are result-oriented and allow to reduce the cost while improving the healthcare expenditures’ effectiveness, have become very popular (Porter & Guth, 2012). Value-based purchasing aims to does this by rewarding providers for delivering practice that strict evidence-based