Research Paper on California Healthcare Bill: Overview of the Health Problem

Introduction

Globally, the healthcare industry has been faced with numerous challenges. Publicly institutions running the healthcare industry have not been very popular among the citizens. Many have cited that, as much as they have been paying so much for better healthcare, their contribution cannot be equalized to the contributions that they make either through the premiums that they pay to insurance companies or even access to the healthcare services themselves. (Obama, 2016). Just recently the state of California introduced the Health care price relief act. Through the act, the state would, therefore, form an independent agency that would oversee the whole health care industry.

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Consequently, it would be responsible for capping by introducing base prices that would be used when receiving healthcare services (Mason, 2018,) April 9). The bill seems to have come in timely fashion amid the crisis that has been facing the healthcare industry not only in California but also in the whole country.

Some of the problems that have been facing the healthcare industry include the ever-rising healthcare cost. The report shows that healthcare cost has in the recent years have surpassed the economic growth rate with a very big margin and the margin is still widening much further to unsustainable levels (Mason, 2018, April 9). Approximately statistics shows that, alone, the state of California spent close to $267 billion on health-related issues, this can be translated to almost $7000 per individual (Mason, 2018).. In addition to that, though most of the Californians were paying more, there was limited access to affordable care.. Through the affordable care act existent in Trump's administration there has been a rise in the number of Californians that are with medical insurance cover (Abelson , & Abelson, 2018, July 16). However, with the limited resources available at the health facilities, most people have not received quality services as they should. The cost of drugs has shot up exponentially and only those that have adequate finances receive the best care that the industry has to offer.

Severity of the Problem

Across the board, most healthcare providers, financial specialist as well as researchers agree to the fact that the ever-ballooning cost of healthcare is a menace that needs to be dealt with accordingly once and for all. In the year 1991, the health care cost represented 10% of the total gross product compared to just recently in the year 2013, which represented 13% of the state's gross domestic product (Mason, 2018).. Though there was a slight increase, the number has risen over the years to unsustainable levels that put the state in a very compromising position.

The people of California mostly get their health care services through the employer-sponsored insurance cover. unfortunately, 2002 and 2012 premiums paid the employers grew exponentially by 90% which translated to a growth from $8,380 to $15,898 annually (Mason, 2017, June 1). However, this did not come without its own consequences. Due to unsustainability, employers reduced the benefits, lowered the wages, reduced employment and increased the out-pocket costs of the employees so as to manage the cost.

Consequently, the employer's contributions towards healthcare rose 83% while those of the employee rose by 110%. In addition to that, Medi-Cal, which is California's medical program has continuously put more strain on the state as well as other local governments (Mason, 2017, June 1). In the periods between 2005 to the year 2015 the Medi-Cal cost has increased to 93% whereas the health cost related to the retirees grew to 106%, this growth compared to another state spending as by far the most.

With some worrisome figures, one only wonders as to what might happen, if the government and all the stakeholders fail to reach a consensus in regards to the implementation of the new act that would help ease the healthcare problem. First of all, healthcare cost will reach overwhelming figures and the government or state will no longer be able to offer support. Secondly, inaccessibility to health services will move from bad to worse. Accessing health services will only be strictly a privilege of the wealthy few who will have the resources to pay for the expensive prices incurred (Abelson , & Abelson, 2018, July 16). Employment opportunities will also dwindle at a very fast rate since employers will only sustain a few employees.

Overview of The Bill and Stakeholders.Last year (2017) in the month of June the Senate of California sent a shock to many not only the state's residents but also the whole of the US. The Senate went ahead and passed the Healthy California Act that would establish one agency that would oversee the health care system. As daring as the move was, many of the residents are proposing to the bill citing that it would not only cut both states and national expenditure but it would also make health care more affordable (Abelson, & Abelson, 2018, July 16).

Going to the specifics of the bill, the agency could prohibit a business from paying health premiums for their employees. Insurance companies will also seize to covers for health care services. The bill will be will cover every individual regardless of age and status. In addition, California residents will no longer have to pay for deductibles, co-payments as well as premiums so as to get appropriate services from health care providers (Abelson, & Abelson, 2018, July 16). This will be wholesomely covered by the state agency that would be established once implementation of the bill kicks off.

However, to achieve this, most of the funding will come from the raising of taxes. The wholes budget is estimated to be around $400 billion. From the $400 billion, there is an expected saving that would be around 18% thereby cutting the budget to around $331 billion (Abelson, & Abelson,, 2018, July 16). To achieve the $331 billion, $225 billion will come from funding that has been redirected from both Medi-Cal and Medicare (Abelson, & Abelson, 2018, July 16). The remaining amount will be realized through the introduction of two new taxes.

Some of the Stakeholders involved with the bill include, the state as well as to the central government, the people of California and the whole of the US who are most likely going to be the main benefactor from the implementation of the bill, healthcare providers as well as insurance companies who fear that standardization will lead to provision of poor services due to low funding that they would receive from the government and finally, the employer who will benefit as well since he won't be required to continue paying premiums for their employees.

Promises/Expected Outcomes

As mentioned above, the implementation of the bill would mean that there would be the residents of California would not need to be covered by their employers or through any federal programs, this would be the responsibly of the state (Abelson, & Abelson, 2018, July 16). Secondly, all related health care cost will be covered. For instance, if a patient undergoing surgery goes to a hospital and taken care off, the patient will not pay anything whatsoever, nor will a patient receive any bill from insurance companies.

Secondly, the bill will virtually cover essentially all the costs, whether it is inpatient or outpatient whether it is dental, mental, substance abuse treatment or even on the prescription of drugs. On a similar note, unlike before due to financial constraints the patient would go to any health provider of their choice for health services (Sheen, 2018, October 9). Thirdly, regardless of status or age, as long as one is a has permanent residency in California one is eligible to the plan. Essentially, it means that the state of California would take care of all the residents of California.

Problems:Most of the opposers have cited that the bill cannot come into fruition, the reason being that the bill is unrealistic. First of all, the expenditure that is going to be incurred is quite enormous, and not only is it enormous (Sheen, 2018, October 9). The assumption that $300 billion is going to streamline the whole healthcare menace is far off from a reality. This is because it might favor more on the side of patients while forgetting the healthcare providers (Sheen, (2018, October 9). For the healthcare providers to provide quality health services, they must be compensated adequately for the services offered.

Secondly, the government has not put in mind the consequences that the new system will have. The big question will be on, what will happen to all the agencies that will be scrapped. All the employees of the insurance company will be left with no jobs board (Sheen, 2018, October 9). On the other end, the ever-rising cost of the medical industry cannot be blamed for making healthcare inaccessible.

Lack of access to health facilities is due to the economic crisis experienced all over the world. Some of the opposers of the bill include healthcare providers, insurance and also the Republicans. All this opposers base their arguments on equality arguing that, the bill assumes that every taxpayer has the same financial capabilities thereby charging the same tax across the board (Sheen, 2018, October 9). However, this should not be the case, the wealthy people should be charged more than those who are just average earners.

Unintended Consequences

Some of the consequences of passing the bill will mostly affect all the stakeholders that were responsible for providing medical coverage. Such institutions include insurance companies. Most of the insurance companies and other similar companies are likely to send their employees at home (Mason, 2017, June 1). In addition, those pharmaceutical companies that have been responsible for the provision of drugs, as well as other medical equipment, will also be highly affected. By capping on the market price that the drugs should be bought might not be that fair to such companies.

This is because some of the prices that pharmaceutical companies have quoted go hand in hand with the market forces that are affecting the industry. Some of these forces happen as a result of inflation as well as the concepts of demand and supply (Abelson, & Abelson, 2018, July 16). Therefore, interfering with some of these aspects of economics will outrightly affect the way that they do their business. In the worst case, the companies might even get shut down.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the health care act has many benefits that are going to help many in terms of health care accessibility and affordability, however, implementation of the law should not be done at the expense of others. All involved stakeholders should have the chance to be heard so that the law can be fair to all.

References

Obama, B. (2016). The United States health care reform: progress to date and next steps. Jama, 316(5), 525-532.

Mason, M. (2017, June 1). What would California's proposed single-payer healthcare system mean for me? Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-single-payer-explainer-20170601-htmlstory.html

Mason, M. (2018, April 9). An ambitious California bill would put the state in charge of controlling prices in the commercial healthcare market. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-California-healthcare-price-control-bill-20180409-story.html

Abelson, P., & Abelson, R. (2018, July 16). Single-Payer Health Care in California: Here's What It Would Take. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/25/business/economy/california-single-payer.html

Sheen, R. (2018, October 9). Proposed California Bill Puts the State in Charge of Healthcare Costs. Retrieved from https://acatimes.com/proposed-california-bill-puts-the-state-in-charge-of-healthcare-costs/