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Southern New Hampshire University *
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531
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Health Science
Date
Apr 3, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by BrigadierUniverse26337
The US healthcare system is complex and dynamic. Policymakers and healthcare leadership must understand not just the system as a whole but also how the individual components work together. Braithwaite (2018) states, “No other industry
or sector has the equivalent range and breadth – such intricate funding models, the multiple moving parts, the complicated clients with diverse needs and so many options and interventions for any one person’s needs.” Policies intended to regulate one aspect of healthcare can be far-reaching. An example of this is the recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that embryos located outside a woman’s uterus are protected under the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act in response to a couple suing a hospital and clinic for negligence in mishandling their frozen embryos that resulted in the embryos being destroyed. (Sharfstein, 2024). What began as a wrongful death lawsuit ended up pausing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures in several clinics across the state of Alabama until state lawmakers could introduce legislation protecting healthcare providers working in IVF clinics and
hospitals.
Policymakers and managers must also understand how the healthcare system works
before deciding on cost-cutting measures. Healthcare expenditures were $4.3 trillion in the US in 2021 and have continued to rise (Martin et al. 2023). As reimbursement for services is cut by governmental agencies and private insurance companies hospital administrators are forced to cut their budgets. This flows down through the organization to individual department managers. Administrators and managers must keep in mind that not all cost-cutting can be accomplished equally. Bernstein, et al. (2023) state “If the focus is strictly on cost-cutting without considering the impact on an overarching strategy, any intervention, especially short-term cost-cutting alone, may fail…Thus, we urge leaders to thoughtfully assess the potential downstream impact on health outcomes and the morale and well-being of the care delivery team before determining the most appropriate approach to cost-containment.” Cost cutting must be accomplished in areas that have the least impact on patient care and staff’s ability to do their job safely. References
Bernstein, D. N., Jayakumar, P. and Bozie, K. (2023). Value-based healthcare: Cost containment
does not equal value creation. British Medical Journal, 482, 239 – 240. http://doi
10.1097/CORR.00000000000002963
Braithwaite, J. (2018). Changing how we think about healthcare improvement. British Medical
Journal, 361. https://doi-org.edu/10.1136/bmj.k2014
Martin, A. B., Hartman, M., Benson, J., & Catlin, A. (2023). National health care spending in
2021: Decline in federal spending outweighs greater use of health care. Health Affairs, 42(1), 6–17. https://doi-org.10.1377/hlthaff.2022.01397
Sharfstein, J. (2024, February 27). The Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling on frozen embryos.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/the-alabama-supreme-courts-ruling-on-frozen-
embryos#:~:text=At%20the%20trial%20court%2C%20this,could%20bring
%20under%20that%20act.
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