Historical Transitioning and Growth of the U.S. Health Care System Term Paper

Historical Transitioning and Growth of the U.S. Health Care System - Term Paper Example The programs included the Medicare and Medicaid (Rice et al. 2013). There are also different forms of financing in the sector. The public sources comprise the largest health care expenditure in the country. It constitutes 48% followed by the private third party payers (Rice et al. 2013). In the current state, most of the Americans receive the coverage from the private health insurance (Rice et al. 2013). Employers contribute significantly to the privately insured individuals. Additionally, the number of purchasers in the form of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) rose significantly in the last two decades of 20th century (Rice et al. 2013). However, this has decreased over time due to criticism of the tight control put on patients. Further, the preferred provider organizations (PPOs) have increased their dominance in the sector (Rice et al. 2013). There have also been changes in terms of physical, technological, and human resources over time. The changes have been more common since 1970’s. For example, there has been raise in ambulatory facilities and decrease in institutional setting (Rice et al. 2013). The number of beds in the hospitals has also fallen significantly. On the other hand, there has also been rapid advancement in the medical technologies. Such medical technologies include MRIs and CT scanners (Rice et al. 2013). Moreover, there have been changes in employment rates in the sector. The country has enjoyed increased number of physicians, nurses, and therapist since 1990 (Rice et al. 2013). The increase is an indication of more focus on the primary health care. However, there has been decline in the number of dentists, optometrists and pharmacist in the same period (Rice et al. 2013). The sector has also listed the vulnerable population in the country. The trend has been established for a long period in history. Some of vulnerable populations in the country appear to be the racial and ethnic minorities, low-income