As a receptionist in a doctor’s office, I’ve seen various problems regarding health and healthcare. Especially, I saw a drastic rise in cost of healthcare plans and decrease in number of patients as well as doctors. Also, there is a great issue of obesity in New York, as well as throughout the other States. Therefore, in this post I will discuss the aspects of these issues and possible solutions that can be implemented to address these problems.
One of the most dramatic changes I’ve seen throughout my job as a receptionist is the cost of insurance. Because I became more knowledgeable about insurances and its expenses, I realized that there are way too many healthcare plans and their prices were high rocketing. According to The New York Times, with the increase in cost of insurances and deductible, many people cut back in visiting doctors. For example, Medicare patients have to pay off deductible every year in order for doctors to bill their services. However, I’ve seen numerous patients that are unable to pay their deductibles because it is expensive. Also, there is a significant number of different insurances. For example, Amerigroup insurance includes plans such as Medicare advantage, Healthplus, Community plan and more. This multitude of insurance plans is ineffective because doctors take certain number of insurances and this variance leads to confusion. Therefore, the number of insurances and their cost gives both patients and doctors hard time.
Furthermore, there is a decrease in number of doctors and patients throughout the years. The United States Census Bureau stated that, “In 2010, working-age adults made an average of 3.9 visits to doctors, nurses or other medical providers, down from 4.8 in 2001.” This decrease in number of patients can be reasoned with the cost of insurance. In addition, there is a shortage of doctors because of the recent health care law. This decline in patients and doctors is problematic because it does not insure health of patients. If patients delay office visits because of the cost, it may delay diagnosis of diseases. Late diagnosis can lead to late treatments and by that time, certain problems might be too late to cure. Moreover, obesity is an issue in New York as well as all throughout America. Although New York is not ranked as the state with the highest obesity rate, the rate of obesity in adult is 25.4%, which is still a high number. Obesity is a problem in today’s world because the rate has been increasing throughout the years. Quick and easy access to food can be harmful if the rate continues to rise. Also, New York lacks certain public policies that address obesity. For example, NY does not follow the Menu Labeling Law that requires nutrient content on menus. By not implementing such policy, people are not being thoroughly aware of what they are eating.
From these three problems I have addressed, I found the cost of insurance to be the most important topic to discuss. For example, President Obama tried to tackle the problem of cost of insurance by enacting the Affordable Care Act. Although this act’s effectiveness is still debated, data have shown that it has helped in significantly decreasing the number of uninsured people. Such policy is one way of solving the issue of cost of insurance.
Also, to address the problem of declining patients and doctors, there should be a way to enforce communication between the patient and the doctors. It is crucial for patients to be aware of their rights as a patient and should feel at ease in visiting doctors. Also, better communication between these two parties can ease the environment within the office and convince patients to regularly visit doctors.
Furthermore, I believe it is crucial to increase awareness of health issues within society. As mentioned above, rise in rate of obesity is an issue that could be solved with more awareness. If the policy of Menu Labeling Law was implemented in New York, more people would be aware of what they are consuming and would be conscious of its effect. Therefore, by implementing awareness and educating people about health issues, more people would be keen to their health. In order to educate people, schools should be the first step in teaching the problems. Health education class should not solely focus on problems of drugs or sexual diseases, but also on rights of patients and the problems of health in today’s society. Therefore, with increase education and awareness, these issues could be addressed and solved.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/02/health/doctor-visits-drop-census-finds.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/health/policy/too-few-doctors-in-many-us-communities.html
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/health_care_insurance/cb12-185.html
online.citibank.com/US/JPS/portal/Home.do
http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-pros-and-cons/
http://stateofobesity.org/states/ny/
Hi Yeji. I like your post for the most part. I had one question though. You mentioned that “It is crucial for patients to be aware of their rights as a patient and should feel at ease in visiting doctors.” Is that actually a problem though? Meaning, I believe that there are people who avoid going to the doctor due to the cost. However, that particular sentence seems to imply that some patients don’t understand what care they should be receiving, or for some reason feel uncomfortable around doctors. Other than people who fear needles and so on, is this actually a problem you’ve noticed? It just seems strange to me to think a person fears visiting the doctor due to lack of information as opposed to fearing some form of expense or malpractice, but it would be interesting to see if lack of information had an effect as well. As to the increasing price of insurance, do you think that the number of different insurance plans, as opposed to increased life expectancy and risk of health issues people face, causes the high prices?
You have some interesting comments Yeji, I see that you focus on is the cost of insurance. I really believe insurance is a big issue that faces many Americans, in fact, I’ve heard that over 60% of bankruptcy is caused by health insurance and medical bills. This is an interesting topic, as it combines health issues with economic issues. As you’ve pointed out, Obama’s Affordable Care Act has caused a significant benefit to people facing situations lacking any sort of insurance. Having a mandated and government insurance guarantees that most people will have access to health care no matter their situation, and basically make health a public property and not a commodity to be sold and bartered. This however, proves a difficult task in America, as health is more often seen as a private company source, even with the idea that private companies somehow have better heath services then public health centers. The best way to combat this would be a change in policy, a move to progressive social institutions of free health care, but obviously that is a far reaching goal, and seems like a radical movement for American politics. Nevertheless, the push for it may be gradual, but someone must try, and our generation would be one to accept that.