With the economy in a downward spiral, with increases of unemployment and loss of jobs in the market; the residual affect causes increases in health care costs. These affects of unemployment and job loss are felt widely throughout the health care market. The burden of non insured individuals and new mandates from the government has impacted the healthcare market greatly. “The problem of healthcare mandates is very intense. Employees who expect these benefits are mostly going to choose between obtaining them and getting a job. But for certain firms and under some conditions, they are unavoidable and unpayable.” (Rockwell, 2010)
For one not to look at a job that does not provide the fringe benefit of providing health care insurance is surely to be a disaster. To put it in a broader perspective, the patient portion of health care costs has increased dramatically over the past few years. Radiology events such as x-rays, CT scans, and ultrasounds represent an increase of $169.27 per patient per event in the patient share of costs. The rate has increased from $166.56 in December, 2009, to $335.83 in January, 2010 (Recondotech, 2010). This increase in representative of radiology costs alone, but it is indicative of the increase in health related expenses across the continuum of care. Patient cost-sharing can be identified as deductibles, co-payments, and co-insurance. Insurance plan providers can utilize one or more of these cost-sharing methods with patients. Increases to the patient cost-share translate to lower premium rates for all participants, so the attractive lower premium rates come at a price on the back end. Many individuals choosing to participate in plans with lower premiums are finding it difficult to pay for their share of health related expenditures; therefore new legislation to share the responsibility of the patient’s share of costs is necessary to ensure the financial stability of the patient, health care entity, and government. A...