US HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

US Health Care System



US Health Care System

Introduction

Health care in the United States has been revolutionized by the introduction of managed care. Used by both public and private, managed care is an alternative to the remuneration of health services. In arrangements of managed care, financing and delivery of health care is provided through contracts with hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, health agencies, home care, and other suppliers. It has been described as a system of health care in which a variety of methods are used to contain the costs of services while maintaining quality of care. The main types of managed care plans include arrangements for indemnity, preferred provider organizations, and exclusive provider organizations, point of service plans, organizations and health maintenance (Page,2012).

Spurred by the escalating costs of health care, managed care has skyrocketed over the last ten years. Recent statistics indicate that about 65 percent of people insured by employers, or 50 million people are served by some form of managed care. State Medicaid systems increasingly are turning to forms of care has succeeded in providing health care. Some managed care offers an affordable alternative to health insurance (Page,2012).

On the other hand, a growing number of individuals believe they receive less adequate health care and fewer benefits of these schemes. For example, many employees pay a larger share of their premiums for health care and medical expenses. These concerns, coupled with the fact that the interests of the company to focus on dividend increases, creating an environment of health care practice full of pitfalls for the professional social worker (Page,2012). This paper discusses the U.S healthcare system, its history, current situation and the action plan for improvement.

Current Situation

The medical technology has advanced to such an extent that is beyond our imaginations but many health centers still need to update their technology immediately. Although many advancements have been made but the biotech industry still need many modernizations in the medical care and there is also an immense need to find out the treatments and cure for those diseases that are fatal and are the leading cause of death all over the world (Johathan, 2011). U.S. health care system is represented by independent services at three main levels, a family medicine, hospital care and public health. Medical services in the U.S. are private individuals and legal entities. Various commercial, charitable and government organizations offer patients both outpatient and inpatient services. About 47% of all U.S. health care costs are the costs of hospital care, about 2% - home care, 10% - medication and 10% - for the maintenance of nursing homes. The remaining 11% cover services of dentists, ophthalmologists and other specialists (Johathan, 2011)

American healthcare is considered as one of the most costly healthcare sector that provides healthcare services to the citizens of United States. United States - has the most expensive health care system in the world. The U.S. spends on health system more than any other industrialized country - both in absolute terms and relative ...