Irish Elderly Health Care

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I want to take the opportunity to say thanks to my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance as without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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ABSTRACT

The Ireland is widely acknowledged to need elderly health care reform. More than 47 million people without insurance are considered unacceptable by most people. (Glied 2001, 965)Changes in the nature of the labor market have made employment-based health insurance less appropriate than it was when long-term employment with the same firm was usual. It provides job lock and reduces the competitiveness of Ireland firms. The proportion of the GDP devoted to elderly health care is much higher than in other countries without better elderly patient outcomes. A well-conceived reform plan could significantly lower elderly health care costs and provide much greater equity (access). However, technological advances in medical care and demographic trends will almost inevitably lead to a continued upward trend in the proportion of the budget devoted to medical care (Finkelstein 2007, 37). This is, however, not unique to the Ireland but is a problem facing all industrialized nations

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Study Background1

The Problem1

Rationale2

Research Questions2

Significance of the Study3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW3

Comparative Elderly health care Systems: Brief Overviews3

Canada3

United Kingdom3

Germany4

Public Elderly health care in the Developing World5

Leading Proposals for Reform in the Ireland5

Incremental Reforms6

Use of Information Technology to Provide Better Records6

Better Management of Care for Chronic Diseases7

Promoting Wellness7

Reforming the Tax Treatment of Employment-Based Health Insurance7

Broadening Insurance Coverage8

The Access Problem8

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY11

Research Design11

REFERENCES12

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Study Background

Health economics is widely understood to encompass the study of the demand and supply for elderly medical services(physician services, services provided in hospitals and independent laboratories, pharmaceuticals, etc.) and for health insurance, as well as comparative studies of different health care systems. It also includes the study of the determinants of demand for health itself, global public health problems, and the nonmedical inputs into health, such as a decent living standard, education, physical and social environment, and personal lifestyle choices, to the extent that they are exogenous (e.g., independent of one's health status). Although the nonmedical factors are increasingly realized to be important in achieving a healthy community at an affordable level of expenditure, most courses in health economics are primarily concerned with the provision of medical care and with health insurance that primarily covers medical care. This chapter will adhere to that tradition since expenditure on medical care, insurance, and research represents such a high proportion of gross domestic product (GDP), especially in the Ireland, and a proportion that is increasing in all high-income industrialized nations. We also focus on medical care as an input into health because it provides no benefits other than its contribution to health, unlike diet, recreation, and ...