How The Healthcare Industry Is Affected By The Economic Recession

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The fact that people get sick and need care will not be changed whether there is an economic recession or not. Thus, it can be argued that the healthcare industry is recession proof. In addition to this, the population is currently aging, more obese and prone to unhealthy diets, and demand better healthcare. With this, it is predicted that the demand for healthcare services and healthcare workers in discount landau scrubs will increase exponentially in the next ten to twenty years. However, the issues may not be as easy and as simple as people would like to suppose.

Economic status

Despite a person's economic status, a person will always get sick at some point and need healthcare. However, the question is, with the coming recession and with people tightening their belts and budgets, can people afford healthcare especially since it has increasingly become expensive? During hard times, it is likely that people will put off healthcare as much as possible and prioritize spending for their living expenses and paying off their mortgage loans. Most likely, people will not seek the help of a medical professional unless it is absolutely essential. What this could entail is that while the number of patients who seek care will decrease in number, those who are seeking care will be more often sicker than usual.

Health insurance

For those who have health insurance, the recession years bring in higher co-pays, higher out-of-pocket expenses, and higher deductibles, plus changes in the coverage of beneficiaries. These changes will significantly alter the way Americans seek healthcare and thus impact the healthcare providers. Because of the new stringent policies of health insurance companies, people will be more reluctant in seeking healthcare, prioritizing paying the mortgage and buying food over paying for medical bills.

Different reactions

At the beginning of the recession, many people rushed to have surgeries and replacement procedures done, in the possibility of getting laid off and losing their health insurance-taking advantage of it while they still had it. On the other hand, other people forgo going to the doctor or getting checked, in the fear of losing their jobs if they were absent or took the time off from work.

Economic outlook

Thus the economic climate for the healthcare industry is not as peachy as most people would like to declare, and is actually erratic and hard to predict. Some hospitals and clinics have faced financial losses in the economic crisis because of the mention factors. Because of these, some have lain off some staff and others instituted hiring freezes. Still, these downturns are temporary. Those who have cancer, heart disease, chronic diseases, and emergency medical situations will have to seek healthcare whether they can afford it or not and the aging population will also require it. The nursing shortage is still being felt despite the economic crisis. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics estimates that there will be a 23% increase of demand for more registered nurses between 2006 and 2016. The bad news is that before the economy recovers, an estimated 4.2 million Americans could lose their health insurance coverage.

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Source by Brent McNutt