Writing, Miami Dade College Response to cristina policy 3`2
Description
Types of healthcare spending that I consider wasteful are health insurance and low-value care. Many of us spend thousands of dollars yearly on health insurance, yet if we were to get sick and become hospitalized, we would still end up with a costly bill from the hospital. With out-of-pocket, deductible, and copayment costs, health insurance can be wasteful and for some young healthy adults, even non-beneficial. Low-value care is “defined as unnecessary medical interventions that provide little to no benefit to patients, have potential to cause harm, incur unnecessary costs to patients, or waste limited healthcare resources” (Almost 25% of Healthcare Spending is Considered Wasteful. Here’s Why, 2023). An example of low-value care is when physicians order multiple unnecessary diagnostic tests and imaging on their patients. These unnecessary diagnostic tests for patients cost up to $101 billion (which roughly comes out to about $310 per person in the US) per year. Surveys completed by these physicians have found that the reason behind doing these unnecessary tests is due to the fear of malpractice suits, patient demands, and difficulty accessing prior medical records. Accessing prior medical records should not be a reason for unnecessary tests, in addition to extra costs, excess imaging is also a risk of unnecessary radiation exposure. These tests are extremely wasteful and most of the time do not provide much benefit to the patient other than possibly peace of mind for those who are demanding these tests from their physicians. If eliminated, the impact it would have on the American public would be lower healthcare costs and insurance premiums. The elimination of these wastes would also aid in reducing the nation’s debt as the government pays for about two-fifths of all healthcare spending (Almost 25% of Healthcare Spending is Considered Wasteful. Here’s Why, 2023). The United States has one of the most expensive healthcare systems, yet much of what is considered healthcare spending is wasteful and has little to no benefits.
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