National Healthcare Reform: Implications for the Military Healthcare System

摘要

For decades, economists, forward thinking lawmakers and academicians have issued warnings that continued escalating healthcare costs and an aging population would lead to a day of fiscal reckoning. Today, healthcare spending exceeds $2.1 trillion annually hitting twice that spent on food. Liberal benefits entailing little out of pocket expenses from the consumer lead the list of causes. Hospital and physician expenses experiencing little price discipline are at the heart of an emerging crisis in the American healthcare industry. Paralleling the civilian sector, department of defense medical costs have escalated, now threatening to exceed of the defense budget. Military leaders recognizing the link between open ended access to healthcare and excessive utilization, despite their warnings have met with stiff resistance from a broad coalition of lobbyists and elected representatives to implement reforms. The recent passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), injects an impetus toward change, however unless addressed comprehensively, the cost of healthcare will continue to rise independently from the stated goals of quality, equity, affordability. Regardless of its previous shortcomings, the Military Healthcare System (MHS) is unique as a large government run healthcare organization which could positively impact national healthcare reform.