Technology and medical cost
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Technology's Effect on Medical Cost.
Causes of High Cost of Health Care and Health Insurance
Aging population
Improved (high-cost) medical technology
Skilled healthcare providers & competition
Defensive medicine
Insurance-encouraged utilization
Cost-shifting from government funded plans
Mandated benefits
In the past 20 years, health care costs have continued to rise and now top 750 billion dollars annually. Medical costs in America are more than a number of foreign countries total annual budgets. Today the aging population plays a large role for increasing health care cost due to the thousands of people from the "baby-boom era" reaching the critical time in their lives where development of serious health problems are at their highest. Americans consume more unhealthy lifestyles than any other county. Health care costs increases are also due to hospitalization for major illness associated with chronic degenerative diseases such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Higher labor costs, competition between hospitals and doctors for patient dollars, skyrocketing prescription drugs and hospital expenses and increased use of medical services are driving the medical cost up. Along with the skilled labor increase the nation faces the cost for the use of new equipment used to perform the diagnosis and testing so routinely performed. As surgical replacements of organs raise the healthcare costs, more health insurances companies broaden their policies to accept procedures performed today. Artificial joints and organ transplants can cost insurance companies from$1,000 to over $200,000 per operation...