Health Policy in Florida Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health Policy in Florida - Assignment Example According to the research, it can, therefore, be said that  a few reasons when combined produce the effect of the unusually high price of healthcare in the state of Florida. For example, the state has passed many statutes and regulations since 1985 that require transparency disclosures from physicians and hospitals but this disclosure does not include insurance companies. Ultimately, they exploit this opportunity. For example, a website administered by the state authorities called www.floridahealthfinder.gov provides consumers average and medical services charged by the hospitals but it does not mention reimbursement rates. Keeping this prices as secrets prevent lawmakers and healthcare policymakers from making better policies. Florida healthcare Coalition has put out many reports pointing out flaws in the system over the past years but they did not sit well with the hospitals. According to Becky Cherney, FHCC President and CEO, they blame the committee for coming up with biased da ta. There are also some genuine hurdles in making the process transparent. For instance, providing healthcare pricing to consumers in a form that they can readily understand is complicated because every patient has unique needs. One cannot just put a standard for disclosing to the public to which every healthcare facility would adhere to. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 supports the notion that healthcare is a right and not a privilege. The intent of the law is to secure the maximum number of US citizens with healthcare. Making health care available to every individual at an affordable price is the motive of such an act. The affordable care act tends to create new incentives for changing clinical practices. The change in such practices as needed to provide better coordination and quality. Such coordination also gives physicians more information so they can practice their medical skills better than before. However, wasting funds and abusing health care programs cost taxpayers billions of dollars.