Health Care or a Billion Dollar Industry

950 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Characteristics of the US healthcare system

Health care in the United States is a booming topic that everyone seems to have their own opinion on, but are the health care companies really interested in making the world a healthier place or are they more interested in making money? This is a growing social problem in not only the United States but the world. The social problems that are arising from health care are the growing pharmaceutical problems, the issue on overmedication, and the issue surrounding privatized hospitals. These social problems have been growing for decades and it is finally time to stop them. The first social problem surrounding the health care system in the United States is the growing problem with pharmaceutical companies. The industry averages a 17% profit margin and it has been booming for decades, but the industry is being heavily led by a core group of companies (Dr. Pratt). “In 1992 the top 10 companies accounted for roughly one-third of global pharmaceutical revenue, after a period of consolidation, by 2001 the top 10 accounted for nearly half.”( Leon-Guerrero, Zentgraf, 172). These companies hold a large majority of the market share and make most of their money off patented drugs. This growing core of companies that are dominating the market are causing more problems rather than solving them. These companies are all about making as much money as they can and it shows through the salaries of the executives of these companies (Dr. Pratt). The pharmaceutical industry should have their number one priority be to the users of their products rather than profit gains. The social problem surrounding the pharmaceutical industry can only be looked at through system blame. People see the good that the medication is doing for themselves and their famil... ... middle of paper ... ...ystem made to help keep us alive, is trying to take advantage of us. People should receive the best possible care regardless of who they are, and where they are from. Health care needs to do exactly what it says, care for our health, and not care for making large profits. Works Cited Berman, Jillian. "For-Profit Hospitals Pushing Patients Out Too Early: Report." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 May 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. Leon-Guerrero, Anna, and Kristine M. Zentgraf. "Pills, Power, People." Contemporary Readings in Social Problems. Los Angeles: Pine Forge, 2009. 172-80. Print. Park, Madison. "Little People, Lots of Pills: Experts Debate Medicating Kids." CNN. Cable News Network, 24 May 2011. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. Pratt, Tia, Dr. "Health and Health Care Delivery." Social Problems. United States, Philadelphia. Mar.-Apr. 2014. Lecture

Show More
Related

  • Essay On Is Healthcare A Right Or A Privilege

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Harry A. Sultz and Kristina M. Young, the authors of our textbook Health Care USA, medical care in the United States is a $2.5 Trillion industry (xvii). This industry is so large that “the U.S. health care system is the world’s eighth

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay: The United States is not The Greatest Country in The World

    1772 Words  | 4 Pages

    Despite the established health care facilities in the United States, most citizens do not have access to proper medical care. We must appreciate from the very onset that a healthy and strong nation must have a proper health care system. Such a health system should be available and affordable to all. The cost of health services is high. In fact, the ...

    Read More

  • Effects of the Lack of Government Influence and Supervision in the Pharmaceutical Industry

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many dangers of prescription drugs are a result of the lack of government influence and supervision in the pharmaceutical industry. It is a business that has free reign to run itself (Perkins). This creates many problems for American consumers. One of these problems is the outrageously high prices of pharmaceuticals. They are nearly impossible to afford for those without insurance, or with insurance that doesn’t cover prescription drugs. Studies performed by the Kaiser Family Foundation show that, “private employer-sponsored health-insurance premiums rose 13.9% this year, the most since 1989”, a trend that is expected to continue for many years to come (Coy). The rising costs of health insurance along with the already high prices of prescription drugs make pharmaceuticals difficult for many Americans to afford.

    Read More

  • Problems With the U.S. Healthcare System

    1646 Words  | 4 Pages

    The U.S. expends far more on healthcare than any other country in the world, yet we get fewer benefits, less than ideal health outcomes, and a lot of dissatisfaction manifested by unequal access, the significant numbers of uninsured and underinsured Americans, uneven quality, and unconstrained wastes. The financing of healthcare is also complicated, as there is no single payer system and payment schemes vary across payors and providers.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Overpriced Medications

    280 Words  | 1 Pages

    The rising cost of medications continues to be a debate amongst pharmaceutical company’s, health care providers and patients. The concern of overpriced medications has been an issue that the government has been more aware of recently, but they are not able to decide on how to take the proper precautions in resolving this issue. The cost of medications are significantly higher in the United States than in the rest of the world because the U. S. allows pharmaceutical companies to set their own price for their medications. The U.S. tried to step in before to get pharmaceutical companies to lower the price of their medications, but it ended up hurting the pharmaceutical companies and the healthcare system. Pharmaceutical companies were not able

    Read More

  • Prescription Drugs Research Paper

    224 Words  | 1 Pages

    Prescription drugs become America's new legal drug abuse problem. 1.) The U.S. Makes up 5% if the world's population, yet consumes more than 75% of the own world's prescription drugs, and more people thought that since it is pre-scripted by doctors, it won't be as harmful to take as much as they want a day. 2.) 50 Million people in the U.S. age of 12 and over, have used prescription drugs non-medically in their lifetime. 3.) According to pharmaceutical industries, it rakes about billions of dollars per year producing drugs to treat symptoms, like how the pharmacy, Big Pharma, raked $711 billion. This article is important because it talks about different people's experience with prescription drugs and how pharmacies are getting paid chunks

    Read More

  • The Rising Cost of Healthcare

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...re we a society willing to continue to place profit over life and health, or will we take control of our healthcare system to afford all the right to live healthy?

    Read More

  • Challenges Facing The Pharmaceutical Industry Case Study

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    Also, there are issues with finding patients for clinical trials and noncompliance with patients, unmaintainable expense models, safety of products, globalization, and a move from a more provider-focused business model towards a patient-focused business model. There is also a problem with the rising expenses of creating innovative life-saving medication and the reduction in compensations, burdens of pricing, and the easy access to getting some of the medications such as, Acid Reducers. The negative view of the pharmaceutical industry would be an economic setting that is reducing investments in real innovations and scientific audacity, lack of teamwork, data, and resource sharing amongst the public and private organizations. Another negative view would be the useless methods that are being utilized to find and create new and recent products (Grom,

    Read More

  • Drugs and Ethics

    1164 Words  | 3 Pages

    Immanuel Kant believed that humans should not be treated merely as a means to an end. If humans are treated this way they are being utilized merely as objects, which deprive them of their humanity. Pharmaceutical companies have goals. They want to improve the lives of the humans that they "serv...

    Read More

  • Disease Mongering: Exploiting Sickness by Big Pharmaceuticals

    1532 Words  | 4 Pages

    The global pharmaceuticals market is a unique, dynamic, and thriving industry. It is an industry that prospers on the mentally and/or physically sick by developing, producing, and marketing various medications. Due to an ever-increasing societal culture that has normalized the consumption of drugs for health and everyday problems, the pharmaceutical industry has flourished. According to the World Health Organization (World Heath Organization; WHO, 2016), the 10 largest drugs companies control over one-third of the pharmaceutical market, in which the top firms earned upwards of 10 billion dollars annually. These large pharmaceutical firms have earned their revenues by selling sickness to the masses, as they are “actively involved in sponsoring the definition of diseases and promoting them to both prescribers and consumers” (Moynihan, Heath, & Henry, 2002). They use their power and expertise to medicalize everyday life. Moynihan, Heath, and Henry (2002) describe this over medicalization as disease mongering, where pharmaceutical companies turn

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Prescription Drug Advertising

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    When speaking to a paramedic, Randy Morris, he was describing the problems in our society that have arose because of drug advertisements. He said, “People are starting to self-diagnose their problems. The patients go into the doctor's office feeling like they are smarter than the doctor, because they think they already found a solution to their problem” (Morris). Martha Rosenberg said, “...Thanks to TV drug ads, patients tell doctors what is wrong with them and what pill they need, coupon in hand. Drug company-funded web sites even give patients talking points to use when they see the doctor, lest they don't ring up a sale. Selling prescription drugs like soap makes a mockery of a medical school education” (“Should Prescription Drugs…”). Prescription drugs are easy to obtain if you respond to the doctor’s questions with the right

    Read More

  • Governance In Pharmaceutical Industry

    594 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pharmaceutical products are the key element of health systems that helps the community. Despite pharmaceutical being a huge multi-billion dollar industry. This element of governance describes the negative and positive sides of the pharmaceutical industrial parameters.

    Read More

  • Pharmaceutical Company Case Study

    1988 Words  | 4 Pages

    What is a pharmaceutical company’s main objective? You might think it is to cure people of illnesses or even make people healthier. However new research and public information shows that while they work in health care health is not what they are starting distribute. “A pharmaceutical company, or drug company, is a commercial business licensed to research, develop, market and/or distribute drugs, most commonly in the context of healthcare. They can deal in generic and/or brand medications.” Although they are a vital part of any economy and health field there are many problems with in the medical industry such as (a) the focus of money, (b) drug abuse, (c) over consumption and (d) severe side effects. Pharmaceutical companies should be better managed and regulated in the United States. There is an unethical balance in how the industry is controlled. They are in it for profit not treatment.

    Read More

  • Ideal Free Market In Healthcare

    499 Words  | 1 Pages

    Another important issue that is also rarely articulated is whether free markets are a desirable feature of a health care system. This issue cannot be easily addressed through economic theory. It is an issue that requires a closer examination of the philosophy behind the foundation of the health care system in any country. It requires an examination of the culture and beliefs of the country about health and health care. Is health care a commodity to be bought and sold for profit, or is it a basic human right that should be accessible to all

    Read More

  • Pharmaceutical Industry Case Study

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    The pharmaceutical industry produces drugs for both diseases and medical conditions. There are three types of drugs; curable, preventative and palliative. Pharmaceutical companies spent an estimated 51.1 billion in 2013 to discover and develop new medicines. More than 300 new drug products were approved by the FDA in the last decade. Now 2900 different drugs are in the process of being studied in the US. (http://www.phrma.org/about#sthash.yWixx0ku.dpuf) Before release for consumption, these drugs must be approved for use and follow a variety of laws and principles concerning the testing and safety of each individual drug. Funding is the main social factor in the pharmaceutical industry and has a huge effect on research. New pharmaceutical products in the US have to be officially approved by the FDA for both safety and effectiveness. Drug researchers are in the process of discovering new and improved designs of drugs that satisfy customers to make these drugs more desirable to consumers. The pharmaceutical industry sometimes misleads the general population into using drugs that may be harmful. Just like in other industries, pharmaceutical companies assemble products that would sell for a profit so that the company survives and becomes successful. Recently, there have been repetitive claims and findings that clinical trials from pharmaceutical industry report only positive outcomes for ideal financial results. Lately, there have been findings with legal issues concerning pharmaceutical products. Now, certain companies have been scrutinized much more closely than ever before by consumers and, more importantly, government agencies.

    Read More

More about Health Care or a Billion Dollar Industry

Open Document