China
Africa
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An Innovative Approach to Global Medical and Wellness Tourism: A Case of Florida Medical Tourism
Published in Frederick J. DeMicco, Ali A. Poorani, Medical Travel Brand Management, 2023
FMT is playing a critical role in creating solutions to both the MT needs for inbound traffic to the U.S., particularly to Florida, and also for outbound patients, especially those who fall in the middle class who for the most part, cannot afford American healthcare, especially with the demise of Obamacare. Not only is Obamacare decreasing in popularity, but many programs are being removed that have to do with subsidies, such as Medicaid, that will be replaced by block grants, leaving many millions of Americans who are either uninsured or underinsured looking for other programs that will cater to their health-related needs. I believe that FMT, through its unique services including the wellness tourism as well as various therapies, surgeries, and procedures, along with telemedicine that allows for second opinions will be impactful in so many areas to provide the best culturally sensitive MT services in the way(s) customers understand and feel comfortable with.
Personal Health Engagement
Published in Salvatore Volpe, Health Informatics, 2022
Health economists and health plans have been working on benefit designs that support and nudge consumers to make wise as well as cost-conscious decisions regarding medical care by taking into account consumer spending behaviors. In part as a consequence of this work, the last ten years have seen a significant rise in the amount consumers pay for their healthcare. These cost increases, intended to give consumers “skin in the game” in relation to their healthcare costs, have not been accompanied by corresponding increases in education or clarity about costs. Instead, the rising share of cost has too often meant that Americans put off needed care even if they have insurance.97 A Commonwealth study found that the share of continuously insured adults with high deductibles has tripled, rising from 3 percent in 2003 to 11 percent in 2014. Half (51%) of underinsured adults reported problems with medical bills or debt and more than two of five (44%) reported not getting needed care because of cost.98
Falling Through the Safety Net
Published in Kant Patel, Mark Rushefsky, Healthcare Politics and Policy in America, 2019
One last aspect remains. The section heading refers to the uninsured and the underinsured. The underinsured are those who have health insurance but whose insurance is inadequate for their present or future needs. A commonly used measure of underinsurance is when family healthcare costs exceed 10 percent of family income; for low-income families, the underinsurance threshold is 5 percent (Collins et al. 2014). This refers especially to those who may have illnesses such as AIDS or multiple sclerosis, chronic diseases that are potentially expensive to cover. Adding in the underinsured to the uninsured, one estimate is that as many as 81 million people are at some financial risk (Schoen et al. 2011). Underinsurance rates were highest among the disabled covered by Medicare and those who bought insurance on the individual market (Collins et al. 2014). The association health insurance plans that the Trump administration is pushing may add to the ranks of the underinsured (see Chapter 3).
Eliminating Sleep Health Disparities and Achieving Health Equity: Seven Areas for Action in the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Community
Published in Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 2023
Abbey J. Hughes, Heather Gunn, Catherine Siengsukon, Melanie A Stearns, Elisabeth James, Tiffany Donley, Michael A Grandner, S. Justin Thomas, Kathryn Hansen, Natasha J Williams
Another inequity is lack of insurance coverage. Millions of Americans are underinsured (Kaysin et al., 2020), and Black, Latinx, and American Indian individuals are at disproportionately high risk of being uninsured or underinsured. As of November 2020, 12 states have not adopted Medicaid expansion, and two states have adopted but have not implemented Medicaid expansion. States that have not adopted Medicaid expansion include Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida, all of which have relatively larger Black and/or Latinx populations (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2021a). Ninety-two percent of adults in the “coverage gap” are in the South, and Texas (33%) followed by Florida (17%) comprise the two states with the highest distribution (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2021b).
Vicarious resilience: traversing the path from client to clinician through a search for meaning
Published in Social Work in Health Care, 2022
One such modality focused on existential distress in the setting of cancer care is meaning-centered psychotherapy, developed by Dr. William Breitbart and a psychiatric oncology research team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center around the turn of this century (Breitbart et al., 2018). Meaning-centered psychotherapy (MCP) has roots in the work of Viktor Frankl, and encompasses therapeutic approaches designed to enhance meaning, quality of life, and spiritual well-being, and to foster an awareness of the role of personal choice in dealing with adversity. MCP, with a focus on enhancing a sense of meaning and value in suffering, holds promise for alleviating feelings of hopelessness and loss of purpose in cancer patients. The intervention (both group- and individually- based MCP) has been found, across multiple randomized controlled studies, to be effective at enhancing meaning and improving spiritual well-being and quality of life (Breitbart et al., 2018, 2012, 2010). Despite the promise of MCP, there are obstacles that impact its utility in many healthcare settings, including time constraints on mental health providers in hospital settings; progression of disease; and the need to balance interventions with other patient needs, particularly for individuals who are uninsured, underinsured, and socio-economically disadvantaged. Individuals who may be socially and marginally isolated, food insecure, financially distressed, uninsured, or underinsured are likely to need substantial assistance and support navigating the sphere in which care is offered.
The Effect of Market Competition on the Price of Topical Eye Drops
Published in Seminars in Ophthalmology, 2022
Arjun Watane, Meghana Kalavar, Joshua Reyes, Nicolas A Yannuzzi, Jayanth Sridhar
While national expenditures for ophthalmic medications continue to increase each year,3 we demonstrate that between 2013 to 2017 the price of generic eye drops decreased, while the price of branded eye drops increased. In a recent study, eye care providers held the highest proportion of brand-name drug claims when compared to other provider types.2 It was also reported that the number of prescriptions per person remained stable over time.2 Therefore, our findings further suggest that the rise in ophthalmic drug expenses may be explained by increasing branded drug prices. These results highlight a pharmacoeconomic imbalance that may impact consumers in various ways, not only financially. For example, price increases may lead to medication non-adherence, particularly in those within lower socioeconomic classes and the underinsured.12 Over time, this can be devastating to patients and public health, as the sight-threatening consequences of non-adherence to ophthalmic medications can place serious strain on the health care system.13