Thinking Out Loud: Health Care Spending

This section includes some of my preliminary thoughts on how we address some of the biggests issues are country is facing that seem to be "impossible". These are not meant to be definitive solutions and I am bound to be wrong from time to time. That's okay! If you have any feedback or want to explore a particular solution, let me know.

The Problem: Health Care Costs

Healthcare costs in the United States are rising faster than ever, while the health of our communities is getting worse.

Possible Solutions

I. Empower nurses to provide high-quality primary care for many routine conditions

Nurses are completely capable of handling independently many routing conditions such as diabetes, preventative care, infections, etc. However, there are currently prevented from doing so independently in many states. Wouldn't it make sense to have nurses handle these routine tasks while freeing up our physicians to tackle the most complex tasks? The Covid pandemic has already shown that our nurses can do this.

Resources:

"Drawing on various studies and examining three example states, the Article discusses how permitting full practice authority¹² can lead to better health care outcomes and access to care in underserved areas, and how reduced or restricted practice authority can lead to greater health care disparities, higher costs of care, and higher chronic disease burden." (Hoey 2023)

Utilizing the Nurse Practitioner: Rethinking State-Level Regulatory Structures to Increase Access and Quality of Healthcare — Northeastern University Law Review

By Abygail Hoey In 2020, it is estimated that there were over 325,000 nurse practitioners (NPs) licensed to practice in the United States. NPs are registered nurses with “advanced training,” typically a master’s degree, who provide comprehensive services to patients by combining clinical training i

Northeastern University Law ReviewNortheastern University Law Review