Health Conundrum Healthcare Financing and Nursing Healthcare

Health Conundrum

Healthcare Financing and Nursing

Healthcare is one of the most contentious subjects in the United States today, with the financing of the healthcare system the specific issue of concern in legal, ethical, and pragmatic spheres. The debate surrounding this industry has impacted all areas of the healthcare industry, including the nursing profession, in a variety of complex ways that are both direct and indirect. Rising healthcare costs without a rising ability to pay has created a strain on many medical institutions, and a rising demand for are with the rapidly aging population of the United States (that is, with a much larger older generation(s) in the country, the overall demographic of the nation is shifting quickly towards more elderly and care-intensive individuals) has not been adequately met with a rising provision of services (Kovner et al. 2011). The following paragraphs will explore several implications of this situation on the profession and practice of nursing.

One of the effects of this financial conundrum that most directly and immediately impacts upon practicing nurses is the consolidation and growth of individual healthcare organizations and institutions that has become more common as a cost savings measure (Cleverley et al. 2011). Larger healthcare institutions and organizations are able to take advantage of certain economies of scale, reducing overall operating costs and also becoming better able to dictate labor wages and practices (to a limited degree) by reducing competition in specific regions and in the industry overall (Celverely et al. 2011). What this means for many practiing nurses is fewer option in regards to job flexibility or placement, despite the fact that nursing remains in high demand under-served by the current available supply (Mason et al. 2007).

The changing dynamics of nursing demand and supply are also creating complicating factors for experienced nurses in terms of job availability and flexibility. While there is a greater demand for nurses than current nursing schools can adequately and efficiently provide, the reduction in real wages for many nurses that is a direct result of the healthcare financing conundrum has been a limiting factor in professional growth, and has actually intensified competition for certain nursing jobs as experienced nurses with higher wage demands are often up against recent graduates simply looking for a job (Mason et al. 2007). In addition to creating issues with the nursing profession, it is easy to see that this could have a detrimental effect on nursing practice and the overall quality of care when healthcare providers are more concerned with cost than with hiring the most effective and skilled individuals available for each position. Controlling costs is unquestionably an important aspect of proper healthcare administration, as is providing beginning nurses positions in which to gain experience and expand skills, but the issues in healthcare financing have limited the ability for the system to effectively engage in these measures while also retaining nursing talent and providing job security and advancement for nurses (Kovner et al. 2011).