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Healthcare Informatics Dimensions of Obama's Health Plan

Dimensions of Obama's Health Plan

Healthcare IT News - Healthcare Informatics
Impacts of Obama's Health plan on different fields.

The Obama administration American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 is intended to provide a  stimulus to the U.S. economy which is undergoing an economic slow down brought about by the sub prime mortgage crisis and the resulting credit crunch. The Act includes federal tax cuts, expansion of  unemployment benefits and other social welfare provisions, and domestic spending in education, health care, and infrastructure, including the energy sector. Package to stimulate the US economy gives emphasis to funds for public health, nutrition, and research. The legislation was passed on 17 February by Congress and has been signed by the president.

Obama's plan would set aside $634 billion over 10 years in a major effort to cover all Americans - a goal that could cost more than $1 trillion. Half the money would come from tax increases on upper-income earners; the other half from cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. Private insurance plans serving Medicare seniors would take the biggest hit. The following are the main plans drawn by Obama government in the course of health reforms.
  • Invest in electronic health information technology systems
  • Improve access to prevention and proven disease management programs.
  • Lower costs by taking on anti competitive actions in the drug and insurance companies
  • Reduce costs of catastrophic illness for employers and their employees
This article tries to cover the possible impacts of Obama's healthcare plan on different fields and people .The American Public Health Association, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and other groups praised the legislation. The public health group said that the legislation included funding in four areas and it provides an opportunity to invest both in economy and health of the nation.  The cost of health care is a major reason for the bankruptcy in America and it could cause 1.5 million Americans to lose their homes by the end of each year. Obama's health plan is aiming at making health coverage affordable, protecting families’ financial health, investing in prevention and wellness, and providing portability of coverage.  The White House says that the Obama plan would help transforming paper records into electronic records and put health care records online. White House cited a Rand Corporation study that the adoption of electronic health records in hospitals and doctors offices could save up to $77 billion.

But there are difference of opinion for some people as they are the real loosers of the game. The medical imaging  giants GE and Siemens, though they appreciate Obama's efforts to cut healthcare costs,  they are not happy with the plan proposed in the president’s budget to require approvals from a private “benefit manager” before Medicare paying for imaging. The reason behind this worry is that the measure may affect the sale of particular equipments that accounts for more than half of the total healthcare sales. And the GE expressed their view on this that, they won't probably support a system that gets between physicians and patients.

Health care companies consider President  Obama's budget a potential profit-killer. Investors agreed and dumped their shares last week, dragging down exchange traded funds. Experts say that the actual cost to create a universal health system is expected to be higher than the anticipated budget. In order to bridge the gap,the government might cut reimbursements paid to health-care providers, eroding profitability.

The healthcare plans turns to be a headache for drug giants as the US government cuts medical spend. America is still the profitable and advantageous export market for Europe's drug producers, accounting for more than half their sales. Any action to cut back spending will put them in trouble.Drug giants such as Eli Lilly & Co. and AstraZeneca Plc said that they would lose “several hundred million” dollars from Obama’s proposal to allow deeper discounts for drugs they sell under the health plan for the poor, Medicaid.

Stephen M. Davidson, a professor at Boston University’s School of Management, expresses his view on the healthcare reforms that, perhaps this isn’t the kind of innovation that may produces better, faster, and cheaper computers (or other products) for which American ingenuity is justifiably esteemed. On the other hand, it may benefit shareholders, but it doesn’t provide enough benefit to the public.  Further, the size of the insurance bill may discourage many employers from even offering coverage, And discourage many employees from buying insurance when it is offered because of their share of the premium, and the out-of-pocket costs at the point of service discourage many who have insurance from actually using services. Finally, the administrative costs required to implement and maintain such a competitive, fragmented system will also create additional burden.

Different studies were conducted in US to get the feed back of physicians on Obama's Healthcare plans. A recent study conducted by HCD research New Jersey, revealed that majority of the physicians believes that the healthcare delivery system will get worse within the next four years. And majority  (64%) of the respondents think that their professional life also would get worse in the coming four years.

Bloomberg report says that the health-care industry is the largest employer in the U.S. It produces almost 17 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. Yet the bill treats health care the way European governments do: as a cost problem instead of a growth industry. And this stimulus is dangerous to the health and the economy. However, the stimulus bill will affect every part of health care, from medical and nursing education, to how patients are treated and how much hospitals get paid. Anyhow ,We need to wait and watch for the real benefits and impacts of the Obama's health plan over the coming years and this article is just to give an introduction of the $634 billion plan which is spread over the coming 10 years.