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Health care system in the USA
Major issue with the American health system
Critiques of our healthcare system
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The high costs of health care are a big problem in society of United States. The total heath care cost in US have increased from $75 billion to $2.6 trillion between 1970 and 2010. However, If we compare the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECO) with United States on total health expenditure per capita, public, and private in 2010. The spending in United States is 150 presents of the OECO average. In addition, the health spending of United State is 17.6 presents of GDP, that is nearly twice the OECD average. Therefore, the high costs of health care will make large stress for the people who have not enough money to pay for hospital, prescription drugs, or insurance company. Thus the high cost of health care is a big problem …show more content…
In the social problem class, I learned that six reasons of the high costs of health care. Including profit driven, inefficiency, defensive medicine, malpractice lawsuits, development of new technology, and expensive prescription drugs. As we know, the traditionally hospital were run by churches universities and municipalities. Since the 1960, for-profit hospital and chains have emerged. Such as the drug companies and insurance companies. Drug companies don’t provide affordable health-preserving drugs in business, they want to make profits for their executives and shareholders as insurance company, Drug companies are firstly concerned with profit as distinct from product. Insurance companies are not in business to facilitate healthcare. For-profit commercial health insurance companies are organizations rely on risk. They are more likely to seeking some people who are unlikely to get sick or injured and try to deny coverage when they do. There are another reason. Because the United States is a litigious society, doctors have to protect themselves by paying high malpractice insurance premium. On the other hand, people want to defense the possible disease, they spend a lot of money for take the defense medicine. The expensive prescriptive drug is a reason why the health care costs of United States is large than other countries. For example , in China, people don’t have to buy the anti-inflammatory drug in
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
The U.S. spending on health care is an outlier compared to other industrialized countries. On an individual basis heath care in the U.S is approximately double what other industrialized countries spend. On a total spend basis, the $3 trillion currently consumed in this sector represents the world’s fifth-largest economy. This high spending on healthcare is unsustainable in the long term. Businesses, individual consumers, and the government are consequently not insulated from the shrinking economic growth due to the ramifications of the high healthcare costs. In a global competitive market the U.S. business will lag behind other industrialized countries unless these high healthcare costs are curtailed. In addition, individuals, even those with insurance face the grim prospect of bankruptcy due to the high cost of care.
On a global scale, the United States is a relatively wealthy country of advanced industrialization. Unfortunately, the healthcare system is among the costliest, spending close to 18% of gross domestic product (GDP) towards funding healthcare (2011). No universal healthcare coverage is currently available. United States healthcare is currently funded through private, federal, state, and local sources. Coverage is provided privately and through the government and military. Nearly 85% of the U.S. population is covered to some extent, leaving a population of close to 48 million without any type of health insurance. Cost is the primary reason for lack of insurance and individuals foregoing medical care and use of prescription medications.
However, our system is based on money. The more money you have to spend, the better medical services you will receive. ?According to the Bureau of Labor education at the university of main (2003), America spends more money oh health care than any other nation, "$4,178 per capita on health care in 1998?, compared to the average of $1,783. (BLE., 2003, p.23). Still an estimated "42.5 million Americans are living without health insurance", which prevents them from receiving medical treatment. (Climan, Scharff, 2003, p.33). The numbers of un-insured Americans continue to rise. Tim Middleton (2002) states, ?insurance premiums grow at a rate greater than wages,? when you have a low-income job. (¶ 9). With our current economy recession, taxes are rising and small business employers are unable to purchase health plans for their employees. Employees are realizing that they are unable to gain insurance from their jobs and beginning to speak out about the high price of health care.
Why are the prices so high? Some critics of the drug companies argue that the larger firms are ripping off the American public, are dishonest and, in some cases, unsafe. On the other hand, there are health care workers such as doctors and their supporters who claim that research and testing for drugs costs money. This supposedly justifies their prices for their products. Also, as an argument to their side, they say that their practice is a benefit to the improvement to mankind. It is a life saving business, but are these prices justified? As one can see, this is a very important issue in medicine today. It affects everyone involved with medicine, which is much of the American public. It also affects the physicians and drug makers.
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 ...
Many people of which do not know, or even understand programs, or funds that can assist them in these situations they are in. People not knowing or cannot afford health care is a huge problem especially considering the fact that many Americans are elderly or suffer from acute disease, disabilities, and even mental disorders. Without proper health care many of these Americans will suffer tremendously and their symptoms may develop even worse without proper medication and help. This cannot be given without affordable health care.
2. The twin problems of the health care industry as viewed by society are cost and access. First of all, the cost of getting health care is very high and it is getting higher each day. This has been mostly caused by the combination of high cost and an increase in quantity of services provided to the communities. The other problem involves access to health care. American enjoy limited or no access to health care. Many efforts have been done to reform this, but still but still many people are left without access to the care. These two problems are related due to the fact that if the health care industry gets to high off course people no longer will be able to have any access to it. The higher prices are, the lower access people have to it.
Rising medical costs are a worldwide problem, but nowhere are they higher than in the U.S. Although Americans with good health insurance coverage may get the best medical treatment in the world, the health of the average American, as measured by life expectancy and infant mortality, is below the average of other major industrial countries. Inefficiency, fraud and the expense of malpractice suits are often blamed for high U.S. costs, but the major reason is overinvestment in technology and personnel.
Healthcare has now become one of the top social as well as economic problems facing America today. The rising cost of medical and health insurance impacts the livelihoods of all Americans in one way or another. The inability to pay for medical care is no longer a problem just affecting the uninsured, but now is becoming an increased problem for those who have insurance as well. Health care can now be seen as a current concern. One issue that we face today is the actual amount of healthcare that is affordable.
Health is by far the most important thing for a human being, so every penny invested on it has to work. This essay is about the study of the current state of American health reforms and why they are desperately required. Unfortunately things are not that bright as they might seem, an American investing most of their money on health care is basically not getting the level of health care they deserves. With all the investment in the medical field and all the advancements of medical domains, government should be providing best health care in the world for its people.
...ue to numerous medical errors. With the amount of medical errors that currently do occur which is a current health care issue it cost the health care billions of dollar each year to fix the mistakes that were made.
First we can find the lack of preparation towards certain diseases that can be prevented or early diagnosed and therefore, less expensive. It may sound cold to tell patients that they could have avoided the disease or been previously diagnosed, but is the truth. When we take a look into more expensive diseases most of them come from a genetic predisposition and then the people must be aware of what they may suffer someday. Now, there are obviously situations that cannot be avoided and these are the most common cause of health debts. For instance, let’s figure a car accident.
Health care has always been an interesting topic all over the world. Voltaire once said, “The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” It may seem like health care that nothing gets accomplished in different health care systems, but ultimately many trying to cures diseases and improve health care systems.
The cost of US health care has been steadily increasing for many years causing many Americans to face difficult choices between health care and other priorities in their lives. Health economists are bringing to light the tradeoffs which must be considered in every healthcare decision (Getzen, 2013, p. 427). Therefore, efforts must be made to incite change which constrains the cost of health care without creating adverse health consequences. As the medical field becomes more business oriented, there will be more of a shift in focus toward the costs and benefits, which will make medicine more like the rest of the economy (Getzen, 2013, p. 439).