The Future of Healthcare in the

United StatesNicole Black, Leslie Francis, Diana Reyes and

Jessie WyersUniversity of Maryland University College

HCAD600

Macro-Trends Affecting Healthcare

❏Economy❏Demographics❏ Personal lifestyles and behaviors❏ Technology❏Government

Economy❏ Affordable Care Act (ACA)

❏ The ACA increased the number of insured Americans, increasing healthcare utilization and spending.

❏ Recession of 2007-2009❏ Initially the

recession lowered healthcare expenditures in the US.

❏ As the economy recovers, healthcare spending will increase.

Levitt, Claxton, Roehrig &Getzen (2013).

Demographics❏ Aging population (65 years and

older)❏ By 2050 1 in 5 Americans will be 65

years and older, an increase from the current 1 in 9 (Halaweish & Halam, 2015).

❏ The increase in older adults entering the US health system is expected to cause a nurse shortage, with an estimated 1.05 million open RN positions expected by 2022 (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2014).

❏ Due to an increase in healthcare technology, older adults are living longer. However, chronic diseases are becoming an ongoing issue and the need for more healthcare providers and healthcare facilities will increase. Healthcare expenditures will also increase due to chronic disease. Retrieved from: http://www.aha.org/research/reports/tw/chartbook/ch1.shtml

❏ Younger adult population❏ Under the ACA, those 26 and older are

now covered under their parents insurance plans. Since healthcare reform, there has been a decrease in the number of uninsured young adults visiting emergency rooms and an increase in primary care utilization (Lau, Adams, Boscardin & Irwin, 2014). This lowers the cost of out of pocket medical expenses incurred by young adults previously uninsured. This graph demonstrates a rapid increase from 2004 to 2010 in the percentage of dependent young adults covered under the 2010 ACA guidelines.

Cantor, Monheit, DeLia & Lloyd (2012)

Personal Lifestyles and Behaviors

❏ Obesity❏ Obesity is partly responsible for chronic

diseases such as diabetes, stroke, heart disease, cancer and osteoarthritis.

❏ Obesity and chronic conditions caused by obesity, are responsible for high rates of healthcare utilization and expenditures.

❏ Smoking❏ Per the American Lung Association,

smoking is the number one leading preventable cause of death in the US.

❏ 15% of Medicaid spending is spent on smoking related illnesses (American Lung Association).

❏ Sedentary lifestyle❏ A majority of health insurance claims

are lifestyle related.❏ The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention suggest a high amount of individuals in the US lack necessary daily physical activity.

This graph demonstrates the burden smoking creates on health care costs over seven years. It should be noted that although the costs for former smokers and continuing smokers fluctuated over the years, both categories remained significantly higher than non-smokers.

Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360912/

Technology❏ Biotechnology

❏ Technology based science that uses the processes of cells and bio-molecules to design technology fit to make our health and planet better (Biotechnology Industry Organization).

❏ Reduces the rates of infectious diseases, creates tools for more precise disease detection, develops crops with enhanced nutrition profiles that solve vitamin and nutrition deficiencies.

❏ Smart technology❏ Allows healthcare providers to share pertinent

healthcare information across various healthcare entities.

❏ Security measures must be taken to ensure patient information is safely stored.

❏ Health information technology❏ Includes Electronic Health Records and private and

secure electronic health information exchanges.

Government❏ Affordable Care Act (ACA)

❏ The ACA improves access to affordable health coverage and protects consumers from abusive insurance company practices (Whitehouse, 2015).

❏ Insurers can no longer impose lifetime dollar limits on essential health benefits.

❏ Insurance companies can no longer discriminate by denying healthcare coverage or charge more because of a pre-existing condition.

❏ The ACA allows people to shop for healthcare in a marketplace to compare and contrast different companies, and make better choices.

http://www.aha.org/research/reports/tw/chartbook/ch1.shtml

ReferencesAmerican Hospital Association. Trends affecting hospitals and health systems. Retrieved from:

http://www.aha.org/research/reports/tw/chartbook/ch1.shtml

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2014-2015 Edition, Medical and Health Services Managers. (2014, January 8). Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htm

Cantor, J. C., Monheit, A. C., DeLia, D., & Lloyd, K. (2012). Early impact of the Affordable Care Act on health insurance coverage of young adults. Health Services Research, 47(5), 1773-1790. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6773.2012.01458.x

Discussing the Pros and Cons of Obamacare. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2015, from http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-pros-and-cons/

Fishman, P., Kahn. Z., Thompson, E., Curry, S. (2003). Health care costs among smokers, former smokers and never smokers in an HMO. Health Services

Research. 38(2). 733-749. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.00142

General Health (2015). Retrieved from http://www.trekdesk.com

Halaweish, I., & Alam, H. (2015). Changing demographics of the American population. Surgical Clinics of North America. (95)1. 10-1. doi:10.1016/j.suc.2014.09.002

Healthcare that works for America. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2015, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform/healthcare-overview

ReferencesHealth IT regulations. (2015, March 27). Retrieved April 23, 2015, from

http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/health-it-regulations

Lau, J., Adams, S., Boscardin, W., & Irwin, C. (2014). Young adults’ healthcare utilization and expenditures prior to the affordablecare act. Journal of Adolescent Health. (54)6. 663-671. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.03.001

Levitt, L., Claxton, G., Roehrig, C., & Getzen, T. (2013, April 22). Assessing the Effects of the Economy on the Recent Slowdown in

Health Spending. Retrieved from http://kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/assessing-the-effects-of-theeconomy-on-the-recent-slowdown-in-health-spending-2/

Obesity and Overweight (2015). Retrieved from http://www.who.int

Rosseter, R. (2014). Nursing shortage fact sheet [PDF document]. Retrieved from American Association of Colleges of Nurses

Website: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/mediarelations/NrsgShortageFS.pdf

Stop Smoking (2015). Retrieved from http://www.lung.org

What is Biotechnology (2015). Retrieved from http://bio.org

Thank You