The price for health care can be a sensitive subject for the public and government alike. With health care costs expected to double to $4.1 trillion within a decade according to abcnews.com, many people may be wondering how to pay for it.
Currently, the United States spends more than 15 percent of its gross domestic product on health care – more than any other industrialized nation in the world, said Tony Sinay, director of health care administration at Cal State Long Beach. By 2016, one in every $5 will go toward health care. Aside from inflation, there are several reasons, according to Sinay. Better technology in the health care industry means procedures like CT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds will become more expensive.
The health care industry is also growing, and with that comes higher wages for more people. In the next 10 years, the health care management industry is expected to grow much faster than other industries, Sinay said. A few professionals in the industry refer to the growing industry and the rising costs as a “health care crisis.” According to Sinay, the industry will need more well-educated people to manage these health care organizations.
Sinay said that an even bigger factor is that people are going to doctors more frequently and expecting more services. Patients are seeing doctors two to three more times a year than they did roughly 30 years ago. There is a high demand for preventative procedures and hi-tech diagnostic tests that check for conditions before there is a problem, he said. As costs rise, patients expect more services and better health care, Sinay said.
However, not all health care consumers feel they get what they pay for. Sophomore Raymond Bessemer described doctor visits as going to “prescription drug dealers.” Bessemer said that doctors seem to not listen to their patients, often just handing out medicine recommendations within five minutes.
“Then you get charged $50 for it,” Bessemer said.
“We are never able to fix this completely,” Sinay said about the rising health care costs.
Health insurance, in particular, has been on the national agenda for years, but as private insurance becomes more expensive, the government will have to find other ways to keep costs down. Some professionals say that 10 to 15 years from now, there will be a single pair system, Sinay said, where the government will have to provide insurance to those who cannot afford it privately.
Another concern is how the rising expenses will affect people who get health insurance through work. If health insurance becomes expensive enough, Sinay said, many employers will not be able to afford giving their workers the option for health insurance.
“Rising costs do increase the number of uninsured people,” he said.
The people hit the hardest by the increasing prices for health care are the working poor, Sinay said. These people make too much money to be eligible for Medicaid, but either their employers do not provide health insurance, or the premiums are too high. The growing trend of health care costs leaves more and more people with no options for insurance.
With many students sometimes left without insurance, the school provides options for them. Students Health Services on campus provides free visits as well as discounted prices at the pharmacy for current students. Emergency room health insurance is also available through Associated Students Inc. However, health insurance through the university does not cover pre-existing conditions. Maryjane Sahagun, a sophomore business major, said she goes to Student Health Services (SHS) on campus. Still, both Bessemer and Sahagun agreed that students should take advantage of SHS, since students already pay a fee for it every semester.
There is no word yet on how the general increase of health care costs will affect prices at SHS. Students may have to pay more if they opt for the health insurance through ASI, Sinay said.
