Health Care in U.S.

Introduction

Health care in the United States remains different as compared to other developed nations. The United States takes a different direction by making a medical welfare system for the poor and the elderly and leaving the rest of the Health care system to supporting themselves. It spends approximately 35 billion per annum to provide medical care with uninsured residents. Another important fact is that around 41 million residents of United States, who lack health insurance, cost 130 billion per annum in lost productivity (Iglehart, pp. 403-408). This is causing a huge problem in the United States and changes can be made but it is up to the Government to make these changes. Economics of health care as well as the service delivery system present various challenges for the practitioner and customer, despite the availability of exceptional medical care. It has an expensive and inefficient health care system, compared with other developed countries, with many citizens who are denied access and poor outcomes. Lack of an integrated system increases inefficiency that could promote an optimal mix of population health measures and personal medical care. This paper advocates a health care system in which core medical benefits should be provided to every American irrespective of the work status and financial situation, while reducing redundancy and improving efficiency.

Thesis Statement

Health care should be available to all people in the U.S. regardless of work status or financial situation

Discussion

The prospect of health reform in the United States is a daily topic in the media, part news, and part conjecture. While the outcome of the current debate about moving closer to universal coverage is unknown, we do know we've been down this road before, many times.

The United States has the most technologically intensive medical practice in the world. It also spends more than any other nation on medical care, but health outcomes in the United States are inferior to those in most other developed nations (Davis, pp. 1). This inefficiency, spending more with poorer results, stems partly from failure to provide effective access to medical care to a substantial share of the population. Lack of access leads to wider disparities in health in the United States than are experienced by the populations of other developed nations. The fragmented delivery system also leads to cost shifting (insurers' attempts to transfer costs to other payers), administrative waste, and an imbalance between spending on medical care and spending on population health initiatives. (Iglehart, pp. 405)

There is general agreement that the US health care system should be more efficient as well as more equitable. Most comprehensive proposals for reforming the system recognize the need for universal coverage that is independent of employment status, disability status, or age, although some would continue to rely on employers to collect health insurance payments. Although universal insurance is important, it is not the only urgent issue. A reformed system should integrate personal preventive and therapeutic care with public health and should include population wide health initiatives. Coordinating personal medical care with ...