Research Proposal Example: Impact of Medical Procedure Prices on Society

Arguably, today in the United States, there is no villain in the raising battle against the high healthcare costs. Precisely, studies have it that in the modern day today, the United States spends more on health care services, as compared to other countries across the globe. With an approximate spending of about $2.6 trillion, a sum of about 18% of the nations gross domestic product, people and the society as a whole, are forced to pay very high medical prices (Quincy, 2016). This being the case, this research proposal seeks to explore the implications that are imposed on the society by medical procedure costs.

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Firstly, over the past couple of decades, the medical sector and the in particular physicians have been referenced as the main reasons behind the rising healthcare costs in America. As a matter of fact, a majority of the medical health policy makers either support or contend in line with monopolization and nationalization, claiming that the supply of physicians can essentially create its own demand. This, in essence, is taken to mean that an increase in the supply of hospitals and doctors intrinsically motivates them to convince ignorance in the medical sector, which has, in turn, led to unnecessary and expensive health care (Larrat & Marcoux, 2012).

Nonetheless, a close examination of the modern day medical data substantiates that the high medical procedure blame is misplaced. According to a 2014 report by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the key components of the healthcare spending have proven to be aggravated by many other factors other than the distribution of physicians in different sectors of the medical field. For instance, factors such as technology, hospital costs, modern day lifestyle choices, chronic diseases, and administrative expenses, among others have had significant implications on the high costs of medical procedures, which in turn, negatively impact the society as a whole.

Neumann & Weinstein (2000) contend that while technological advancement in the modern day today is considered an essential factor for improving the health status, these advancements also have some negative implications on the society. Based on the facts behind the high medical costs, scholars have increasingly contended that technology and its advancement is vilified as one of the primary factors that are responsible for the continued escalation of both medical equipment cost and medical services cost. With reference to the liability costs and the medicine practice in the medical program, studies substantiate that new technologies play a great role, especially on the balance of health care costs (Baicker, Fisher & Chandra, 2007). For instance, in America today, various incentives and regulations that are built into the American health care sector, increasingly cause inappropriate diffusion of technologies, which in turn elevate the medical prices costs.

Being the direct and immediate beneficiaries of affordable and quality health care services, the society is bound to suffer both from the increased medical equipment cost, and also that of the services. Based on this context, multiple studies contend that, in America today, the lower and middle-income consumers have difficulties affording health care. Usually, when patients struggle to pay for their medical bills, they fail to receive the quality of care that they need. Besides, from an economic perspective, owing to the increased medical care procedures, patients are forced to sacrifice other of their expenses such as housing, employment or even educational ratings, so as to meet the high medical care costs.

In conclusion, it is with no doubt that the increased medical procedure prices, negatively impact the society. With technology as one of the primary causes of this elevation in the medical care procedures, there is a need to evaluate the new medical technology both economically and from a medical health perspective. By so doing, the society will not only benefit from high-quality health care services but will also enjoy affordable health care services.

References

Baicker, K., Fisher, E. S., & Chandra, A. (2007). Malpractice Liability Costs And The Practice Of Medicine In The Medicare Program. Health Affairs, 26(3), 841-852. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.26.3.841

Larrat, E. P., & Marcoux, R. M. (2012). Federal and state officials confer on mental health and substance abuse managed care systems. PsycEXTRA Dataset, 37(4). doi:10.1037/e369492004-001

Neumann, P., & Weinstein, M. (2000). The Diffusion of New Technology: Costs and Benefits to Health Care. NCBI, 24(1), 99-124. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511625817.006

Quincy, L. (2016, April 10). Are Out-of-Pocket Medical Costs Too High? - WSJ. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/are-out-of-pocket-medical-costs-too-high-1460340176