Everyone agrees that health care costs a lot.
But not everyone agrees on how to make rural health care more affordable and efficient, and still be of the highest quality and accessible to all.
Keith Mueller, Ph.D., director of the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis at the University of Nebraska Medical Center has a few ideas.
One is to transform how health care services are financed and delivered
“Health care is more expensive than it needs to be, we are overusing some services and misusing others,” Dr. Mueller told attendees of the Nebraska Rural Health Association annual conference held last month in Kearney, Neb.
And it is not always of the highest quality, Dr. Mueller said.
He suggested rural health providers think in terms of providing a continuum of care that is patient and community focused.
“Where are my patients getting care? What services should I be providing and where can they go to get other needed services?”
It is important, especially in rural areas, for providers and patients to know that they have access to the services they need, even if those services are provided in another community, Dr. Mueller said.
Some of those networks are already in place, he said. One example is the statewide telehealth network that currently links several hospitals across the state.
Another change that would help make the cost of health care more affordable is payment based on the value of the service provided.
“The days of one size fits all insurance are gone,” Dr. Mueller said. “Payment needs to be based on the quality and effectiveness of care delivered.”