Health Admin

Statement of the problem

Over 5 million Americans today suffer from various medical disorders that eventually lead to infertility. A few insurance companies(15%-18%) in America today offer cover to these special group of people which include the people with special reproductive assisted technologies, access to treatment is only possible for those who are able to pay high out of pocket costs. Without cover from insurance companies, the cost is pushed to a small portion of the population which in turn give rise to per capita rates to treatment and permit the physicians to adopt less costly health practices that is not good for health care and also raises the cost of health. It should be noted that reproduction is a crucial activity according to the United States constitution and by denying good treatment to most of the socioeconomic groups is the violation of the American disability act. Furthermore, infertility treatment costs not covered by the insurance are a great barrier to its access. A couple facing infertility problems are estimated to pay about $60,594 per live delivery as medical expenses.

Policy options

According to the federal mandate, all insurance companies are required to provide infertility treatment. The local provider communities would make a choice on the specific treatment algorithm and design their one year rates on the algorithms. In this case, the affected parties will get treatment at designated centers. The greatest advantage of this policy is that it provides the patients with coverage thus reduces the per capita costs and allows the insurance companies to negotiate discounts for services .Optional state mandates by now successful in areas like Illinois and Massachusetts. The coverage and the restrictions of vary considerably and therefore the federal government does not need to stipulate the mandatory coverage.

Policy recommendations

As a result of rising rates of infertility treatment in addition to the rising rates of multiple gestations, a short term reform is needed in order to make sure patients have access to quality healthcare at a fair cost. Despite the state reforms working in some areas, the time needed for implementation in other states with no current initiatives greatly hurts the health of patients.