Health

Economic Terms and Healthcare History

Cecilia Ramirez

HCS/440

DOREEN GOUNARIS

November 14, 2013

Economic Terms and Healthcare History

History for the 20th century took place during the 2009 election, when President Obama assumed office and is currently still in office. For years health care economics has been one of the hottest topic. But I strongly believe that in order for one to understand the economics of health care one needs to understand the history and evolution of health care.

Healthcare economics has dramatically changed over the progression of time in the United States. Some of the major contributing factors that have influenced these changes are the great and numerous advancements in technology and medical care. In writing this paper I will strive to describe the history and evolution of healthcare economics and provide a fundamental timeline that shows these dire changes. I also intend to breakdown some economical terms that will help one gain better intellect of the role of economics in healthcare history.

History and Evolution of Healthcare Economics

The US healthcare system is continuously in a state of rapid evolution leaving individuals to wonder and ask numerous questions such as; “Who will pay for the dramatic changes to health care? What will happen if one cannot afford or does not have healthcare coverage? In multiple past experiences, most individuals have always had to pay their medical bills with some type of private funding sources, but thankfully times have changed drastically in both good and bad ways but now it is more common for insurance companies and other third party dealers to cover the loftier part of the payment, leaving the individual with only a small amount to pay from private funding sources” (Getzen, & Moore, 2007, p.3, para.1).

Historical time has demonstrated that in former eras medical physicians would trade their services for items such as cotton, food, and even livestock. This was in lieu of payment...