Integrated Ethereum Platforms Could Save Billions In Yearly Healthcare Costs
What Is The Credit Protocol?
Blockmason is an Ethereum blockchain company which is attempting to revamp how credit and debt settlements are agreed upon, paid off, and cannot be erased by either party after both parties insert the agreement into the blockchain ledger. While the Blockmason code isn’t a payment processor, third-party companies can code payment options into the platform. The company further explains, “Companies and developers can build their own systems and services involving debt and obligations atop the Credit Protocol. Blockmason has released its open source code and documentation, and provides continuous guidance and significant support in development, design, planning, and launching of applications to such companies.”
How Can Credit Protocol Help Reduce Healthcare Spending?
Blockmason has already partnered with Coral Finance, a subsidiary of Coral Health — which could help reduce the trillions of dollars wasted in administrative costs within the global healthcare industry. As conversation in the United States continues to push further towards a Universal Healthcare system, such additional savings could make the policy even more attractive to citizens and lawmakers who want to show that the move would be ethical along with being cost effective.
Future uses of the technology could also incorporate the Kinesis concept of a blockchain debit card. If innovation will allow instant conversion for differing blockchain currency; along with fiat currencies — working and middle class workers around the world would have additional methods to pay for healthcare and other costs of living expenses.
Such integration could save hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States healthcare system per year, in addition to the savings that Universal Healthcare would bring. Along with reducing administrative costs for countries which already have a Universal Healthcare system in place.
While Blockmason and Coral Finance are already partnering together, there have not been any reported conversations involving Kinesis – yet, it’s likely that the future will see multiple blockchain companies combine their resources in such a way to yield similar results.
The credit protocol nor partnerships between Ethereum companies will replace fiat currencies, yet they do have the opportunity to increase the standard of living for those who have limited fiat capital to pay for expensive healthcare costs in the current private medical system of the United States.
Why Lowering Administrative Costs Is Important
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) details why the United States percentage of health care spending is higher than other developed nations, “Private insurance schemes have much higher administrative costs than any public schemes.”
The OECD also explains their findings concerning administrative costs in single-payer and multi-payer systems:
Single-payer systems (whether the payer is a social health insurance fund or a government entity) tend to have comparable levels of administrative spending, lower than those of multiplepayer [sic] systems. Multi-payer systems with free choice of insurer tend to have higher administrative costs than multi-payer systems with automatic affiliation.
The wasteful spending is exacerbated by how much the United States spends on healthcare in comparison to other high-income countries. JAMA conducted a study comparing the United to the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia, Japan, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Denmark.
The study found, “In 2016, the US spent 17.8% of its gross domestic product on health care, and spending in the other countries ranged from 9.6% (Australia) to 12.4% (Switzerland). The proportion of the population with health insurance was 90% in the US, lower than the other countries (range, 99%-100%), and the US had the highest proportion of private health insurance (55.3%).”
The United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) projects healthcare spending will continue to rise 5.5% until 2026 when spending is projected to reach $5.7 trillion. Switching to Universal Healthcare and incorporating innovative technology will definitely save citizens of the United States trillions of dollars and make healthcare affordable for everyone regardless of their income.
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