Congressional Budget Office: Options for Reducing the Deficit

The federal government provides financial capitals for health care through required expenditures set aside for programs, grants that are attainable through the reductions in federal taxes, and the optional part of fiscal policy for discretionary spending on programs subsidized through annual appropriation acts (Congressional Budget Office, 2016). The health care organization that has been selected is a medical facility comprising of over 150 providers including primary and specializing physicians. It is a medical facility that started out as a university health system and has developed into an organization that provides medical care not only to students, but faculty, staff, and their families from every state in the country and almost every country in the world. According to the Institute of Medicine (2003), “Medicaid serves about 42 million people who are poor and who require health care services to achieve healthy growth and development goals or meet special health care needs.” (p.32).

The potential implementation of the health option of new flexibility for states regarding the financing of and spending for Medicaid would come with various opportunities for this medical facility. It could make it easier for the states to change the amount of funds delegated for spending based on the federal capital provided. It could assist the medical facility with being able to also better negotiate with different managed care contracts as a means to deliver a great number of the population with health care. However, there is also the potential for limiting Medicaid spending meaning that patients will have less medical benefits coverage. A proposed change for the facility to help mitigate such negative effects would be to continue to expand the number of contracts that are obtained with private health insurances. Of course, the accessibility should also be made available to the patients under Medicaid plans per what is allowed under established covered medical services. The facility should look to potentially expand the financial department to incorporate a department dedicated to advocating for care for patients with these plans. Another plan of action could be to also restructure the nurse navigation department to assist patients who may not be eligible to stay with this facility to obtain referrals to in-network providers who are recommended.








References

Congressional Budget Office. (2016). Options for reducing the deficit: 2017 to 2026. Retrieved from https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/52142-budgetoptions2.pdf

Institute of Medicine. (2003). Leadership by Example: Coordinating Government Roles in Improving Health Care Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/10537/chapter/4