Is Healthcare So Expensive?

What is the Real Killer, Sickness or Medical Bills? The healthcare sector of United States of America alone is a three-trillion-dollar industry, if this industry were its own country, it would be the fifth-ranked economy in the world (“Why is Healthcare So Expensive?”, 1). America has the fastest rising per-capita health costs in the world, and has continued to rise over the past thirty years (“Why is Healthcare So Expensive?”). One example of the outrageous costs of medical care in the United states is “Sovaldi” which is a one-thousand-dollar pill for treating Hepatitis, which adds up to anywhere from $84,000 to $150,000 for a course of treatment (“Why is Healthcare So Expensive?”). Medical care is outrageously expensive in the United States

Several examples can be called upon for this issue, one of them being the recent cost increase in EpiPen prices. In fact, EpiPen prices have increased by four-hundred percent since 2011 (Davis, 3). EpiPens are lifesaving auto-injectors used to treat anaphylaxis (Davis, 1). This medicine’s price skyrocketed overnight, which is, in part, because Mylan (The pharmaceutical company responsible for EpiPens) no longer has any true competition (Davis, 4). EpiPens have risen from approximately $150 to around $600 per pen (Kodjak, 4). While pharmacy companies are partially at fault for the high cost of medical care in the united states, the rapidly increasing percentage of people with chronic illness and obesity is also responsible for high medical

Treatment centers often do not inform patients of the costs affiliated with the procedures until right before, or after the treatment has already been given (Merhar, 6). The lack of information available to patients prevents patients from making fully informed healthcare decisions (Merhat, 6). A study showed that fifty-six percent of Americans attempted to attain information on the costs of procedures that they needed done, which points towards a conclusion that it is not because of consumer ignorance that medical costs are so high, but the inability to find necessary information to decide upon cost effective medical care prices (Rizzolo, 6). Studies have also shown that consumers have found it “difficult and frustrating” to gain cost information for medical treatment (Rizzolo, 4). The lack of medical cost transparency is among the many causes of the high medical costs that effect the American population by causing a higher mortality rate of those who have contracted treatable illnesses. The American population is greatly affected by the high cost of medical care in several ways. When compared to eighteen other countries, the United States is ranked last on the list for preventing deaths caused by treatable illness. This is because of the high cost of medical care preventing people from seeking professional attention on what could be a minor health issue (Hiebert-White, 1). The