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Cost of Healthcare
It is ridiculous how Healthcare costs are skyrocketing. Mortgage lending have caps for costs and fees such as the high cost rule. Borrowers cannot be charged more than 5% of the total cost of the loan which included third-party costs such as prepaid, escrow, homeowners insurance, title charges, etc. Compare the high cost cap to Healthcare. Especially prescription drugs.
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5 Replies
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I completely agree @gus. The problem lies with our politicians and the federal government. They will do nothing as long as the same insurance companies are lining their pockets.
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Some pills are.800 per month but the wholesale price is only 10 dollars
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In the healthcare industry, where insurance has become a necessity, people have complained about the cost of prescription medication, especially regarding its cost. What’s more disturbing is how mortgage lending is approached compared to healthcare costs – here are some examples I have found. Take a look at the alarming cost trends in the industry, along with rules about mortgage loans:
How Regulation of Costs is Different:
Mortgage Loans:
Cost Burden Rule: A very dangerous piece of regulation known as the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act—or HOEPA—states that with third-party fees included, the borrower is not allowed to incur interest nor charge more than 5 percent because that would be a definite abuse of the earning capabilities of the American people.
Healthcare Expenses:
This is a classic example of where loans and mortgage lending differ. FHA and other such mortgages have a defined structure that ensures people don’t earn too much on loans. However, the same cannot be said about prescription medication or, to an even larger extent, hospitals. On multiple occasions, prescription medication expenses have been so high and disorganized that the person paying them had no clue as to how they were going to manage their reimbursement.
Hike In Premiums: Speaking of cost, I found a statistic rather jaw-dropping that Americans would bear one-third of the cost of health insurance for the employed plans. This automatically means that prices are going upward and continuing upward, and they don’t have a stopping point. This is why insuring oneself has become a trend in our society today.
Prescription Drug Prices: Drug pricing comes second in the list of treatable issues. In the last quarter of 2022, Medicare started negotiations for pricing on certain drugs after the Inflation Reduction Act, which was expected to assist the older population. However, these negotiations started in 2023, and it will take time for their full impact to be felt.
Cost Transparency Initiatives: Some states require transparency in pricing in some hospitals. This will assist consumers in analyzing their healthcare gaps. The evaluation of whether this goal is being achieved is still ongoing.
Healthcare Inflation: Unfortunately, the rate at which healthcare spending is increasing continues to be much greater than the general rate of inflation the economy is experiencing. These include increased payments for healthcare services, administrative costs, and even the costs of ever-changing technologies and new drugs.
Public Health Initiatives: More recently, this proposal of universal healthcare coverage, together with ongoing outreach efforts and expansion of Medicaid coverage in selected states, has emerged as the best-proposed tactic to resolve the issue of healthcare affordability and access. This would help relieve individuals and families of financial stress.
In contrast with lenders who are at liberty to set their pricing, in two jurisdictions, there are limitations regarding how much they can charge for borrowers. Due to the lack of governance in the lending market, there is never a dull moment in the United States; this always leads to patients suffering financially. The word on the street is that if healthcare costs, including monthly premiums and medications, do not come down, healthcare will need reforms.
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What specific legislative proposals are being considered to address healthcare costs?
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Over the past few years, several legislative ideas have been put forward to tackle the problem of the United States’ high healthcare expenditure. Here are some of the key initiatives and proposals right now in the works or under discussion:
Reform for Pricing of Prescription Drugs
The Inflation Reduction Act: The Inflation Reduction Act, signed in October 2022, enacts provisions such as the prohibition of high out-of-pocket expenses for senior citizens and allows Medicare to start negotiating the pricing of certain high-cost prescriptions in 2026.
Proposals to introduce transparency in drug costing practices among pharmaceutical companies have been presented to bolster competition. These proposals include disclosing R&D expenditures and pricing information.
Medicare and Medicaid Reforms
Medicare: Efforts to increase the number of older people with access to affordable and quality health care by broadening the targeting age for Medicare from 65 to a minimum of 60 or 55 years.
Medicaid: Unremitting provisions designed to target several states yet to increase their participation in ACA by expanding Medicaid eligibility, particularly to low-income individuals.
Public Option
Proposed Legislation to introduce a Public Health Insurance Option: An initiative targeting to introduce Legislation compelling states to provide a public option that would provide affordable healthcare plans sought by the citizens in exchange for driving down insurance prices nationwide.
Transparency concerning Healthcare Expenses
Informed Consent Regarding Costs of Services: Laws that require hospitals and other healthcare facilities and professionals to make available the prices of any service even before it is rendered so that each patient can select derived healthcare service solutions. Such proposals include the introduction of a “good faith estimate” regarding patients who remain without insurance.
The Ban on Surprise Billing
No Surprise Acts: This form of Legislation began operating in 2022 and is aimed at safeguarding patients from an unaffordable medical bill when they employ the services of out-of-network providers in an emergency or when in-network providers are not available. In addition, further proposals are intended to increase protection and make billing practices more explicit.
Chronic Disease Management and Prevention
More Resources for Preventive Care: The intention is to increase resources in health-promoting preventive care services, chronic disease management programs, and mental health services to reduce the cost of health care in the future.
Increase in the availability of Telehealth.
Telemedicine Policy: An idea to promote further telemedicine, widely used during the COVID-19 outbreak, was to increase patients’ access to health care when physically present in the facility, especially in rural areas. This can also decrease patients’ expenses.
Integrating Investment in the Workforce
Healthcare Workforce. Increasing investment in the education and training of healthcare professionals is vital, considering the gaps in capabilities and adequate supply of medical professionals, to enhance the quality of care and minimize the cost of care associated with the rising number of employees needed in staffing.
These legislative proposals demonstrate an increasing acknowledgment of the need to tackle the problem of healthcare expenditure effectively. Certain initiatives are already showing results in some areas. However, prevailing political situations and diverse priorities of lawmakers could affect the further progress and implementation of these initiatives. Further discussions and campaigns will be instrumental in determining how the affordability of healthcare in the U.S. will be able to advance further.
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