The History of the U.S. Health Care System The U.S. health care system has an ex

The History of the U.S. Health Care System

The U.S. health care system has an extensive history and has undergone numerous changes through the years. Two of the most significant changes took place in 1965 and 2010 with the passages of Medicare and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, respectively. As the United States continues to struggle with the best approach to meet the needs of our citizens, it is important to reflect on where we have been to better assess opportunities for improvement moving forward.

In this assignment, you will research the history of the U.S. health care system from historical, economic, financial, and operational perspectives. Please review the media piece, Government Intervention in Health Economics, linked in the Resources. Include the following in your assignment:

1. Discuss the most significant political, legal, regulatory, or demographic factors that have contributed to the state of the current U.S. health care system.
2. 1. Identify at least three factors that have changed the U.S. health care system through the years.
   2. Explain how the factors changed the U.S. health care system.
2. Compare the current differences in spending patterns between the United States and another industrialized country (Competency 2).
3. 1. Compare current health care spending in the United States to another industrialized country. Consider using GDP as a metric for comparison.
   2. Compare current health outcomes in the United States to another industrialized country. Consider using infant mortality as a metric for comparison. (Please use Canada)
3. Explain how reimbursement trends have changed from a historical perspective (Competency 3).
4. 1. Identify primary payers (insurance, patients, government) who are responsible for payment of health care services.
   2. Discuss which payers have historically been responsible for payment of health care services.
4. Explain how health care reform initiatives impact operational planning and decision making in a health care organization (Competency 4).
5. 1. Identify a key reform initiative, such as the passage of Medicare or the Affordable Care Act.
   2. Identify a health care provider impacted by the reform (physician, hospital, et cetera).
   3. Discuss how a reform initiative impacted the operational planning and decision making of a health care provider.
5. Write clearly and logically with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics; correctly format citations using APA style (Competency 5).
6. 1. Determine the proper application of APA formatting requirements and scholarly writing standards.
   2. Apply the principles of effective composition.
   3. Determine the proper application of the rules of grammar and mechanics.
   4. Assess the relevance and credibility of information sources.

Greer, S. L. (2015). Reflecting on ‘The 2010 U.S. Health Care Reform: Approaching and Avoiding How Other Countries Finance Health Care’. Health Economics, Policy and Law, 10(4), 473–477.