How Will Health Care Reform Contain Rising Costs?
Cost containment focuses on four main areas: providers, insurance companies, preventive medicine and market reforms. Health Care Providers: Hospitals, doctors and other health care providers will be pushed to work within a standardized electronic paperwork system. “Health IT” is the catchphrase for reducing the costs and inefficiencies of the current paper-based system. However, an electronic system will need to have security and privacy safeguards, and it will need to be phased in to accommodate computer and software costs. There will also be efforts to better manage chronic disease, which accounts for 75% of overall health care spending. Reducing the incidence of misdiagnosis, unnecessary tests and treatment through more rigorous medical oversight and quality control can also take costs out of the system. Health Insurance Companies: Private health care insurance companies are currently losing customers due to spiraling premiums. Lawmakers want to bring 46 million Americans into the s
