Improving Health Insurance Market from Nursing Perspective Term Paper

Improving Health Insurance Market from Nursing Perspective - Term Paper Example This search for lower costs in the labor for providing these services will translate into nursing services taking up additional responsibilities in the providing of health care services at least in the community settings. Though not all medical professionals agree to the taking up additional responsibilities by nursing services in the provision of healthcare services, nevertheless there is enough evidence to show that there is no deficiency in the quality of healthcare services provided by nursing services in nursing independent care settings. Reducing costs of health care and providing more access to health as the means to improving the healthcare insurance market will require a greater role for nursing services and quite likely as independent services in the community settings. In conclusion, health insurance started in America in the 1930s under skepticism on its success. Since that time health insurance has become the way by which people meet the costs of health care needs. Howev er, this growth has come at the cost of high costs of health care and the poor accessibility to health care. Factors intrinsic and extrinsic to the health insurance industry have led to this situation in the healthcare industry, which has led to the need of the hour being improvements in the healthcare insurance market, with particular emphasis on lowering health care costs and enhancing access. Nursing services can and will play an important role in the efforts to improve the health insurance market.... nwards private insurers did provide accident, burial, and sickness policies, while some of the railroad, mining, and timber companies provided workplace health benefits. However, health insurance in its complete form and in an organized manner took root from the 1930s onwards. Against a backdrop of skepticism prior to World War II of a greater proportion of commercial insurers that hospital and medical costs were an insurable risk, health insurers did offer accident, burial and in America became a reality through the efforts of Blue Cross in the mid 1930s. The success that Blue cross achieved in its health insurance offerings brought competitors into play to share in the health insurance pie in America. This rising potent competition resulted in the erosion of market share of Blue Cross and changed the competitive scenario of the health insurance market. The health insurance market now consisted of the non-profit organizations of Blue Cross or Blue Shield and the for-profit commercia l health insurers (Austin & Hungerford, 2009). Towards the end of the 1950s health insurance had become a standard component of the compensation offered by most of the large employers in America. The Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP) which was created by Congress made available to federal workers across the country Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurance benefits. However, this was the period of time when for the first time a sharp increase in health care costs were experienced. Fuelling this were several reasons that included emergence of new hospitals; growing capital intensity for providing inpatient care; the change from, flat-rate per diem reimbursement for hospitals to full cost payment; and the widening of health insurance benefits that enhanced the ability of