Five Things you need to ask yourself about Health Care Reforms
Since 2008 is an election year, there will be much attention on domestic issues and the elephant in the room is health care reform. This healthpolicymaven blog reviews five fundamental questions and their importance in creating a more effective health care system for Americans. Does everyone have access to some type of primary care? Is the United States government optimizing its purchasing power for public programs? Are provider reimbursements in line with health care goals? Is there a mechanism for eliminating unnecessary and costly redundancies in a fragmented delivery system? Is the financing of health care for the country adequate and equitable? Access to Care First of all, access to care is not the same as access to health insurance. Health insurance is one of the financing mechanisms for health care, it does not provide care. Secondly, access means adequacy of supply in relation to the demand for services, especially primary care services. Presently there are significant shortage...