- 02/12/2012
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
Today, the problem of funding of the health care system and the maintenance of hospitals and medical centers is one of the major challenges to the modern health care system. In actuality, there are different approaches to funding the health care system but each approach has its own drawbacks as well as benefits. In this respect, it is possible to single out two major approaches to funding the health care system. On the one hand, there is the insurance system, when health care costs are covered by insurance companies. On the other hand, there is the state or public funding, when health care costs are covered by the state mainly.
In actuality, the insurance system is widely-spread and it is one of the most effective approaches to funding health care system. First of all, the coverage of health care costs by insurance companies leads to the fast and full coverage of health care services. Insured patients can feel absolutely safe and secure because their health care bills will be covered by their insurance company. At the same time, insurance companies control the quality of health care services being delivered to patients because they need to minimize their spending, whereas poor health care services will lead to ongoing health problems in their clients and, therefore, to larger expanses.
However, this approach to funding the health care system is not always effective because it deprives a considerable part of the population of the access to high quality health care services. In fact, uninsured patients turn out to be a sort of outcasts, who have no or little opportunities to receive health care services they need. As a result, the national health care system has either to ignore the uninsured part of the population that contradicts to the professional ethics of health care professionals, or, alternatively, it should provide the poor with the minimal, elementary health care services only.
In this regard, the state or public funding of the health care system seems to be more preferable. First, patients do not care of funding the health care system. Second, they receive health care services they need. Third, the quality of health care services can be controlled by the state, which establishes standards of health care services and controls whether health care organizations meet these standards or not. In such a way, the state insures the accessibility of health care services to all patients.
However, the question concerning the quality of health care services arises because state or public funding is not always sufficient to cover high costs of health care services, which need the use of high technologies and which are complex and advanced technologically. As a result, the speed of the delivery of health care services and their quality decreased under the state or public funding of the health care system.
In such a situation, it is important to find the plausible solution to find the effective source of funding of the health care system. In this respect, it is possible to recommend combining the two aforementioned approaches, i.e. insurance and state funding. In fact, the health insurance should exist for patients, who can cover their health insurance. As for the rest of patients, they need the support from the part of the state and public which can fund their health care services.
References
Hessler, K. B. (2002). Specifying the Content of the Human Right to Health Care. Medicine and Social Justice.
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