What Drives Health Care Costs?

Discussion 1: What Drives Health Care Costs?
Note: Before completing this Discussion, please familiarize yourself with the Week 6 Discussion 1 Rubric located in the Course Information area of the course navigation menu.

In this week’s Discussion, you will focus on practical solutions to reducing health care costs while improving quality and access. Because health care in the United States is a business, it is imperative that health care administrators understand that providing safe, quality health care services under budget is one of the single most important performance metrics that they can benchmark for success.

To prepare for this Discussion, choose a health care policy issue in your workplace or community related to cost, quality, or access. You may wish to explore the literature and health care policy websites to ascertain what is working and what might work in your workplace or community.

Note: Take a look at the CMS innovation website, linked in this week’s Optional Resources, if you are interested in looking at some innovative models currently being tested.

Post by Day 3 an analysis of the health care policy issue you chose, making sure to address these specific points: describe the health care policy issue you selected; provide and explain the statistics depicting the issue; and explain how this issue relates to health care costs, quality, and access.

When possible, provide examples from your professional experiences to demonstrate cost concerns in your particular field, or use personal anecdotes/stories to illustrate some of the problems that exist.

General Guidance on Discussion Posts: Your original post, due by Day 3, will typically be 3–4 paragraphs in length as a general expectation/estimate.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://innovation.cms.gov

Blavin, F., Shartzer, A., Long, S. K., & Holahan, J. (2015). An early look at changes in employer-sponsored insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Health Affairs, 34(1), 170–177.
An Early Look At Changes In Employer-Sponsored Insurance Under The Affordable Care Act by Blavin, F.; Shartzer, A.; Long, S. K.; Holahan, J., in Health Affairs, Vol. 34/Issue 1. Copyright 2015 by Project Hope/Health Affairs Journal. Reprinted by permission of Project Hope/Health Affairs Journal via the Copyright Clearance Center.

Gould, E. (2013). Employer-sponsored health insurance coverage continues to decline in a new decade. International Journal of Health Services, 43(4), 603–638.
Employer-sponsored Health Insurance Coverage Continues to Decline in a New Decade by Gould, E., in International Journal of Health and Human Services, Vol. 43/Issue 4. Copyright 2013 by Sage Publications, Inc. – Journals. Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications, Inc. – Journals via the Copyright Clearance Center.