Improving healthcare and reducing costs
Increasing health care costs continue to burden most payers in the healthcare system. Most states are struggling to meet the demands of Medicaid and private health costs as well as Medicaid benefits (Collins et al., 2013). As medical expenses continue to grow, healthcare providers should improve the quality of healthcare services as well as reduce the burden of the cost to all payers. This article will discuss how the healthcare system can mitigate costs and simultaneously improve healthcare services.
Patient-centered homes serve as a means of improving healthcare and reduce costs to payers. They manage to do so by developing medical homes and enhancing their growth. The adoption of this strategy by various states, including the US, transforms the healthcare system for sustainable corporate success (Collins et al., 2013). In the US, the medical home is an essential way of mitigating medical costs and improving healthcare services across the country.
Designing systems to assess and improve healthcare services and reduce costs is the way to go for all healthcare providers. The society is putting more pressure for continuous healthcare improvements and cost-effectiveness (Lighter & Fair, 2014). As a result, organizations like HCFA, NCQA, Joint Commission are working hard to ensure universal accountability in the health sector and appreciating the best healthcare outcomes. The result is that the healthcare system is increasingly affordable and continuously improving.
Lastly, adopting a plan similar to BCBS of North Carolina can help the healthcare system to reduce costs as well as improve the quality of services. BCBS, through its Blue Quality Physician Program, manages to provide meaningful health standards and charge substantial incentive payments to patients (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2012). BCBS encourages healthcare service improvements by rewarding medics who achieve NCQA and allowing medical practitioners to receive incentive payments.
References
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2012). Promoting Interoperability Programs | CMS. Retrieved 10 March 2020, from https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms
Lighter, D., & Fair, D. (2004). Quality management in health care (pp. 9-11). Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett.
Collins, S., Piper, K. B., & Owens, G. (2013). The opportunity for health plans to improve quality and reduce costs by embracing primary care medical homes. American health & drug benefits, 6(1), 30–38.