Efforts of Public and Private Hospitals in Addressing Cost and Quality in Healthcare

Healthcare Cost and Quality
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Healthcare providers in the United States are not only mandated but obligated to ensure the provision of quality care to their patients and without discrimination or victimization whatsoever. In that regard, healthcare facilities are supposed to ensure that their services are affordable to all members of the society and that the low costs do not in any way have negative implications on the overall quality of care. However, over the recent past, there has been a general rise in the cost of living and which consequently has led to increments in healthcare related costs. Healthcare financing from the government to the public healthcare facilities has been reduced significantly leading to the deterioration of the institutions and the services offered. As a result, many patients have turned to private healthcare facilities which despite providing quality services are quite expensive. Overall, there have been continued controversial debates regarding the association between healthcare costs and quality.
Efforts of Public and Private Hospitals in Addressing Cost and Quality in Healthcare
Public hospitals in the US are primarily government-owned healthcare facilities and are therefore dependent on financing from the government and donors. These public healthcare institutions have been offering medical services to the citizens for free with the costs incurred covered through government reimbursements. However, the government and donor financing have diminished in recent years because the high costs of living have not only affected expenditure but also investments (Higgs, 2013). As a result, the provision of quality care has been impacted significantly, more so considering that these facilities are prohibited from charging for medical services. The Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose is a vivid example of a public healthcare facility whose services have been affected by the budget cuts. The hospital has since resorted to seeking for volunteer doctors and nurses to attend to their patients and donations of medical supplies from NGO’s in efforts to provide primary care.
Private hospitals, on the other hand, are profit oriented and focus their services where they intend to reap significant gains. They are primarily financed throughout of pockets and medical insurance and will mostly offer quality services but at exorbitant prices...