Balanced Budget Act of 1997

Balanced Budget Act of 1997 Introduction with Background In the last several years, health care costs have been increasingly exponentially. To control the expenses associated with Medicare and Medicaid, the Balance Budget Act of 1997 was enacted. At the heart of its focus, was on reducing the total amounts of fees that are provided to health care providers, doctors and nurses. This is troubling, as these transformations will have an impact on facilities and health care professionals (who may not want to work with these kinds of patients).

When this happens, there will be a decrease in choices and the overall quality of services that are provided to these individuals. This is the point that these challenges could adversely impact treatment options that are provided. (Kilgore, 2009) Evidence of this can be seen in a study that was conducted by Kilgore (2009). She found that the act has changed consumer behavior in health care services.

As there is a drop in utilization rates for those programs that are paying reduced fees for services and an increase in the ones with higher costs. This is problematic, as it is showing how a number of initiatives are not receiving the same kind of attention in the past from the reduction in fees to providers. These elements are demonstrating the long-term impact of these cuts in services to the most vulnerable in society. In the future, this is hurting the kinds of treatment options that are available.

This is when the elderly and low income segments will have reduced choices in providers. (Kilgore, 2009) Purpose Statement This study will be focusing on the long-term effects of the cuts from Balance Budget Act of 1997 to: Medicare, Medicaid and services provided for these programs. During this process, the research will be concentrating on utilizing qualitative analysis. This is when actuaries will look at a variety of sources and information to understand the trends / patterns from these cuts.

Once this is complete, is the point that there will be a focus on using comparative analysis to understand the scope of the problem. This is when the different pieces of information will be correlated against each other to comprehend the extent and long-term impact of these issues. These elements will provide us with more detailed facts about what specific areas are contributing to the underlying challenges.

("Qualitative Research," 2012) ("Comparative Analysis," 2012) Evidence of this can be seen with observations from Olsen (2012) who said, "Qualitative and comparative analysis offers a new, systematic way of studying configurations of cases. This is used in comparative research and when using case-study research methods. As the analyst, interprets the data qualitatively whilst also looking at causality between the variables.

Thus the two-stage approach to studying causality has a qualitative first stage and a systematic second stage using comparative analysis." These different techniques will assist in understanding the scope of the problem and the long-term changes from the Balance Budget Act of 1997 on the health care system. This will help everyone to see the effects of these transformations on services and how they are contributing to rising costs / reduced treatment options.

When this happens, these ideas can be used to provide more clarity about the best approach for addressing these challenges. (Olsen, 2012) Research Questions The research questions will be concentrating on how these cuts are impacting both programs and the kinds of services recipients are receiving.

To focus the research there will be an emphasis on a number of critical questions to include: What is the long-term effect of the Balance Budget Act of 1997 on doctors, nurses, health care providers and patients? Did these changes improve quality and increase the number of choices that are available to consumers? Why or why not? What are the positive and negative transformations that are occurring from the changes in fees for both programs? In what ways did the Balance Budget Act of 1997 alter how health care services are delivered and the types of solutions provided? The combination of these factors will help actuaries to focus the research, look at critical challenges and determine any kind positive changes.

When this happens, these findings can be used to understand the difficulties impacting health care professionals, providers and patients. This is the point that possible solutions can be introduced to address the most critical issues. Definitions of Terms For clarification purposes, there will be a concentration on key terms that will be used during the course of this study. The most notable include: Health care providers: These are hospitals, clinics and other organizations that are directly involved in the delivery of various health services.

Health care professionals: These are the individuals who are responsible for working with patients in addressing their health issues. In some cases, this will involve looking at private practices. While at other times, there will be an emphasis on those individuals who are working for different facilities (such as: hospitals, nonprofits and charities). Patients: These are consumers, who are over 65 years old for Medicare or they are receiving assistance from Medicaid (based on their income levels).

The Balance Budget Act of 1997: This is a law that was enacted to control the total amounts spending by government programs. At the heart of these cuts, were.