Federal Officials Say No to Lifetime Limits on Medicaid; Empowered Patients Are the Future of Health Care; Healthcare Jobs Continue to Grow Faster Than Jobs in the General Economy
Federal Officials Say No to Lifetime Limits on Medicaid
On May 7, 2018, the White House told the Department of Health and Human Services to overturn Kansas’s new lifetime limit restrictions on Medicaid (http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/386497-trump-officials-reject-medicaid-lifetime-limits-in-kansas). Kansas has been leading the way for states looking to implement restrictions to federal benefits. The state previously implemented work requirements for Medicaid recipients and was trying to impose time limits for how long recipients could receive Medicaid for some time. Had its efforts stood, this would mark a fundamental shift in how the federal program is implemented at the state level.
States have been given latitude under the Trump administration to define federal programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. However, the White House seems unwilling to tolerate lifetime limits for the Medicaid program. Access to quality care (https://www.ons.org/advocacy-policy) continues to be a top priority in ONS’s advocacy efforts at the local, state, and federal level.
Empowered Patients Are the Future of Health Care
Americans love to get a deal. Consider the in-depth negotiations for homes, cars, and even house painters. But for some reason, healthcare bills are accepted at face value (https://www.realclearhealth.com/articles/2018/05/03/empowered_patients_are_the_future_of_health_care_110784.html) and rarely reviewed before purchasing care. Do we just assume that healthcare services can’t be negotiated? No simple answer exists for that question, but as the skyrocketing costs of drugs, hospitalizations, and long-term care continue, economists believe that the situation is untenable for most Americans.
In fact, recent studies showed (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1917438) that when patients were given the tools to shop for their healthcare services, their costs were lowered without any discernable sacrifice to quality care. Unfortunately, the healthcare cost issue is likely to get worse before it gets better. Congress is still grappling with the cost and coverage debate, which is leading to more of a stalemate than viable solutions. ONS champions oncology nurse navigators as expert care coordinators (https://www.ons.org/advocacy-policy/positions/practice/ONN) who can drive healthcare costs down while offering other boons to patients with cancer.
Healthcare Jobs Continue to Grow Faster Than Jobs in the General Economy
In the next decade, healthcare jobs are expected to grow at three times the rate (https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20180502.984593/full/) of the rest of the economy. Economists estimate a job growth rate of 18% in the healthcare sector by 2026. Jobs in the rest of the economy are speculated to grow at a rate of just 6%.
Nurse are the most trusted professionals (http://news.gallup.com/poll/224639/nurses-keep-healthy-lead-honest-ethical-profession.aspx?g_source=CATEGORY_SOCIAL_POLICY_ISSUES&g_medium=topic&g_campaign=tiles)—more than teachers, physicians, and law enforcement. As economies change from agricultural to technologic to information based, people still value their health above all else. To that point, nurses and other healthcare providers will continue to see growth in their fields—along with many other areas of health care—for some time. Interested in furthering your career? Learn how certification through the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (https://www.ons.org/advocacy-policy/positions/education/certification) can help your future career possibilities.