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Examine Health Insurance Plans

Examine Health Insurance Plans

  • Type of paperEssay (Any Type)
  • SubjectHealthcare
  • Number of pages2
  • Format of citationAPA
  • Number of cited resources2
  • Type of serviceWriting from scratch

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Health Insurance Plans

Founded 1925 and headquartered at Sheboygan, Acuity is a Mutual Insurance company that offers property and casualty insurance services and products for consumers and businesses in the U.S. Its commercial insurance ranges from automobile, personal insurance, excess and general liability, crime, inland marine, property, to packaged and special coverage (Lighting, 2016).

For the past 10 years, Acuity Company has undergone various changes, especially after the epoch of legislation removal of certain barriers that existed amid insurance companies and banks. The effect of that epoch increased the company’s demutualization rate that diversified its operations beyond mere insurance and access additional capital. The company also gained the opportunity to own banking affiliates. Reshaping of the company’s entire financial sector steered its expansion through acquisitions, merging, and removal distinct spheres of commercial and investment banking action (Lighting, 2016). To enhance the visibility of the company from a considerable distance, Acuity developed a flagpole located on the company’s headquarters campus along Interstate 43 amid Milwaukee and Green Bay on Lake Michigan.

Eventually, after the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), various impacts and trends in healthcare access, quality, and technology beyond those already in play began trickling in. According to Kocher & Adashi, (2011), tracking these evolving trends and tracing the innovation outlines after ACA marketplace since 2015 has resulted to the recognition of numerous advanced strategic trends and impacts that are or will be progressively substantial. Some of these trends include information technology innovations that drive inter-stakeholder exchange of information and ideas, new, better and alternative provider payment methods, advancement of structured quality measures, patients becoming more informed consumers, and specialty drug use driving the cost of care (Chaudhry et al., 2006). Quality healthcare being the core basis, the organizations will need to concentration on how the quality outcomes can be established focusing on deeper investigations entailing access and technological capabilities in a reduction or elimination of medication errors, hospital attained infections, and wrong surgery or site (Chaudhry et al., 2006).

Recently, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services CMS proposed various adjustments to Medicare reimbursement policies for hospitals admittances and long-term care hospitals stays, besides other recommendations for various Medicare value-based purchasing agendas. As suggested by Allon et al., (2011), it was estimated that Medicare costs on inpatient hospital services will increase by $2.9 billion this year, if the proposed inpatient potential payment methodology and long-term care hospital policy changes are executed. In response, the spending will account for such hospital expenses as patient circumstance costs, considering Medicare patients, new goods and services costs, and hospital labor costs. The proposed change in inpatient Medicare reimbursement rates echoed a 3.0% market basket update and 0.82% decreased rate as dictated by the Affordable Care Act. In response to the boost, the inpatient operating payments will increase by an approximate of 2% (Allon et al., (2011).

To the best of my knowledge, my original opinion regarding health insurance concern was that it is for a fact that medical expenses are still a burden to the majority of people. The effect of the burden would instigate a person to never see a doctor in case of illness unless it is deemed severe. As much as the premium costs might not be affordable to certain lower economic status, health insurance scheme is still significant in the urge of accessing medical care of any type of illness thus reduces severity. Considering the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the future of health insurance should be a universal coverage under the current reform, and change the focus of healthcare from volume-driven to value-driven reimbursement regarding the significant results measurements, efficiency, high quality, safe, and cost-effective to all.

References

Allon, M., Dinwiddie, L., Lacson, E., Latos, D. L., Lok, C. E., Steinman, T., & Weiner, D. E.      (2011). Medicare reimbursement policies and hemodialysis vascular access outcomes: a    need for change. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 22(3), 426-430.

Chaudhry, B., Wang, J., Wu, S., Maglione, M., Mojica, W., Roth, E., … & Shekelle, P. G. (2006).             Systematic review: impact of health information technology on quality, efficiency, and     costs of medical care. Annals of internal medicine, 144(10), 742-752.

Kocher, R. P., & Adashi, E. Y. (2011). Hospital readmissions and the Affordable Care Act: paying          for coordinated quality care. Jama, 306(16), 1794-1795.

Lighting, L. (2016). Acuity Company. Avante, Recessed Direct/Indirect Insight, 1-4.