Health Insurance and Patient Care in Market Changes Essay

Health Insurance and Patient Care in Market Changes - Essay Example An excellent example that could demonstrate the connectedness of the healthcare submarkets is the manner by which the government exercises control. Ideally, the healthcare industry in America operates within the free market framework. However, it is easy for the government to intervene and even dictate prices and quantities effectively in an indirect manner. This is partly because of the interrelatedness of the submarkets. This is shown in the case of Medicare. Originally, a passive entitlement financing program, the institution provide the necessary funding for the purchase of physician services. However, today it is capable of setting the prices in other submarkets by simply refusing to pay for services, medical technology, among other products and services offered across submarkets (Getzen, 2010, p. 345). This opportunity to influence is not limited to the government. Other healthcare organizations especially those that have policymaking capacities such as hospitals and profession al organizations could do the same. For instance, hospitals could affect the prices on several subsectors when they demand an increased supply of nurses. A rise in nursing income could address the problem of RNs not working in nursing or reverse the trend of the decreasing number of people entering nursing field, two of the major factors identified by Unruh and Fottler (2005) as causes for the shortage in nursing today and in the immediate future (p.177). This also works in a reverse way. When new nursing schools open, the supply of nurses increases and demand decreases. It ushers in a different price dynamics. The impact is not only limited to education.