Health Care Cost Containment

The term "cost containment" used in relation to the delivery of health care services means different things to different people. When former President George Bush spoke of health care cost containment, he most often referred to initiatives designed to constrain price increases for the delivery of health care services. When current President Bill Clinton speaks of health care cost containment, he most often refers to proposals aimed at slowing or reducing total expenditures for the delivery of health care services. When the State of Oregon speaks of health care cost containment, the focus is on the control of the level of health care services utilization (Eddy, 1991, pp. 21352140). When the American Medical Association speaks of health care cost containment, the issue most frequently cited is provider costs incurred by such activities as malpractice law suits and thirdparty paperwork requirements (Starr, 1991, pp. 2226).

The focus one places on the meaning of health care cost containment typically shapes the character of one's health care cost containment proposal. Thus, none of the cost containment proposals thus far presented are truly comprehensive in character. That deficiency is one of the reasons underlying the creation of the health care advisory committee created by President Clinton and chaired by Hillary Clinton. The major health care cost containment proposals thus far made tend to fall into one of fo

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dividuals a health insurance plan incorporating mandated minimum benefits, while a second approach would require that all individuals avail themselves of such coverage (if comparable or better coverage is not otherwise provided to them or by them), with tax benefits and other forms of assistance provided to lowincome persons to assure their capability of compliance (Rovner, 1991d, p. 419; Rovner, 1991e, p. 1508). The proposal to require all individuals to avail themselves of mandated minimum coverage health care insurance (if comparable or better coverage is not otherwise provided to them or by them) affects the concept of universality as well as constituting mandated minimum health care insurance coverage. With respect to universal coverage health care insurance, the primary proposal envisions the replacement of all existing health care insurance plans with a national plan guaranteeing universal access (Rovner, 1991d, p. 419). As well as constituting the adoption of the universality concept to health care, this proposal holds implications for delivery system reorganization, and this proposal is the core of "Nursing's Agenda for Health Care Reform" (American Nurses Association, 1991, p. 1). All of the existing proposals for hea
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Nurses Association, Congressional Quarterly, Coverage Countries, Medical Association, Hillary Clinton, health care, Rovner Julie, Bill Clinton, / |, | |, | /, Revenue P2||/, | / |, / | /, | | |, George Bush, Cost Opportunity, cost containment, health care cost, care cost, care cost containment, care insurance, congressional quarterly, physicians' services, care services,
Approximate Word count = 1612
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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