SIR Economics Investigations Abstract
A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE INSURANCE IN AMERICA
Presenter:
Sean Mirski, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Advisors:
Ms. Ellen Layton, Barnes and Thornburg
Mr. Mark Rust, Barnes and Thornburg
Abstract:
The world of healthcare insurance is changing as health costs rise exponentially, far above the rate of inflation. This rate of growth cannot be sustained for long and as such, health insurance is beginning to undergo major changes. Firms such as Barnes & Thornburg LLP, the law firm where I worked, must deal with these transformations and look progressively in order to better serve their clients. I undertook the task of compiling a document about new developments in healthcare financing including public programs and private insurance, taking care to go into depth into recent changes that were of particular interest to the firm. After gathering information, I juxtaposed the data I had found to see what trends I could discern, a methodology based on the premise of grounded theory research. The result is meant to provide a factual basis of history and statistics, along with a personal analysis that showcases the pattern that the data appears to follow. Although a final analysis has not been completed, the major trend that seems to characterize health care insurance is that it is becoming more and more consumer-driven, a pattern that economically should lead to at least a temporary solution to the problem.