Problems in The US Healthcare System Essay Sample

The United States is the largest and most diverse society across the globe and spends more per capita in healthcare than any other country, however, our healthcare system struggles to reflect that (Sanders). While the U.S is well renowned for its research and advancement in medical technology, it faces significant issues. These issues include high insurance costs and treatment, lack of transparency, and lack of access. Though most Americans are aware of these problems, many choose to ignore them. We must ensure each individual has access to high-quality, affordable, and transparent healthcare regardless of age, income, or demographic. 

Before the pandemic, approximately eighty-seven million individuals were either uninsured or underinsured, and since the pandemic that number has only increased (Sanders). Throughout the pandemic over twenty-six million people lost their jobs, which ultimately rid them of their health benefits as well (Sanders). This means that in the middle of a pandemic, millions of individuals lose health coverage, and most are unable to afford private insurance. These individuals are terrified to receive any health care as they simply cannot afford it. No individual shall be forced into a financial crisis due to their health, especially during a pandemic. Those that lack any insurance at all are often a part of a minority or have a low-income job and are unable to afford the high-priced insurance rates. As a result, many of these individuals experience more health hardships than insured Americans due to the high costs associated with medical care and ridiculously priced prescription drugs. Often these people choose to not seek immediate care when medical problems arise in fear of being indebted afterward. Over half a million Americans declare bankruptcy each year because of medical-related debt (Sanders). Statistics also show that there is a reduced lifespan, and a loss of productivity in the uninsured because of them being unable to receive proper medical attention (Sanders). However, the high cost of health care is not limited to just those uninsured. As the price of premiums, prescriptions, and treatments continue to rise, the cost of quality insurance policies increases as well. Those that are insured are still required to pay expensive deductibles, co-pays, and other out-of-pocket expenses. Providers have increased their prices by over forty percent in the past decade (Sanders). Thus causing even those who are insured to struggle to pay for their medical needs. The current system is meddling and offers no guarantee that anyone may receive affordable, quality health care. 

The lack of transparency within the healthcare system resides in the corporate companies that are beginning to dominate the market. For the past several years there has been an abundance of mergers within the medical field that have been detrimental to the public’s health (Gaffney).  Like the proposed merger between retail-giant CVS and insurance company Aetna. This merger represents the rise of corporate control of medical services in the healthcare system (Gaffney). These mergers increase the costs to the patient, which in turn increases the profits for the company. There is no regard for the patient and the quality of health that they may receive. For example, dialysis treatment is dominated by corporate profit chains rather than non-profits. A 2011 research study shows that the profit-chains had a 13% higher mortality rate than the non-profits (Gaffney). These corporations choose to have large profit margins rather than devoting more money and resources to the patient's care. It is vital that these companies stop competing over who can gross the most profits, and instead who can offer the best patient care (Spross). The rise in mergers is causing people to be treated more as customers than patients.  Additionally, the majority of hospitals, clinics, and medical services lack telling patients the “pricing, outcomes, and alternatives” in advance (Jorgensen). This leaves the patients in the dark, not knowing what the financial and physical outcomes of the health care they receive will be. Price transparency would allow individuals to see their health care costs in advance, and the quality of care that they would receive before treatment similar to Singapore’s health care system, which is often noticed as the best health care system in the world (Jorgensen). By providing patients with transparency, the cost of health care services would intensely decrease as much as seventy-five percent (Jorgensen). In Singapore, a heart-valve replacement can cost as little as $12,500 compared to the United States in which it may cost as much as $160,000 (Jorgensen). It would be very beneficial if the United States would adopt a similar system. We must ensure that there is transparency within our healthcare system so that individuals may receive the most affordable and highest quality of care. 

Despite having the largest healthcare infrastructure in the world, an estimated 30% of Americans live in rural areas that lack proper access to health care services (Bennet). Rural communities lack proper access to healthcare, as they are limited to certain providers, clinics, and resources. In most cases, these residents are also often older or have a lower income and as a result, lack proper insurance. These individuals are also more prone to becoming sicker and having more prominent health issues such as cancer, heart attacks, and chronic diseases (Haeder). The demographic is challenged with these challenges by the limitations that have been caused by the healthcare system. As individuals move farther from large metropolitan areas, access dramatically decreases. Many rural residents are estimated to have to travel 120 miles to receive specialized care or care that is a part of their insurance network (Haeder). Not only are healthcare providers limited to particular resources, but they also receive poor funding. As a result, many rural hospitals are financially vulnerable to closure which would leave residents with no healthcare options at all (Bennet). These rural providers struggle to maintain financial stability due to the lack of local, state, and federal funding because of the relatively low volume of patients, and low insurance coverage (Bennet). Overall, it is vital to our rural communities that we put a better effort into providing better healthcare, and insurance to these individuals. 

The United States has been facing these issues for a long time and we must find a proper solution to these problems. There have been many different suggestions in regards to fixing the healthcare system. The most common solution that politicians suggest would solve these problems would be to create a nationalized health care system into a single-paying format through taxpayer funding (Maffessanti). A nationalized health care system would allow citizens to walk directly into a doctor’s office, clinic, or hospital and receive care, while never having to worry about receiving a bill. This would directly increase the amount of low-income families and residents living in rural communities who receive treatment, as the cost would not be a worry to them. However, despite sounding like a practical plan with no issues, it could cause other problems to our healthcare system that may be more concerning such as causing delays in receiving health care, therefore, causing more deaths (Maffessanti). For example, Canada practices a nationalized health care system and the timing between getting a general physician's referral to receiving treatment was approximately four months (Maffessanti). For obvious reasons, this can be detrimental to one’s health, especially where a delay in treatment increases the chance of mortality such as forms of cancer or heart diseases. However, if one does not think that these issues may arise in the United States, we must look at the Department of Veterans Affairs. This government-run health care service provides full healthcare coverage to veterans. Even with providing full coverage, an internal audit discovered that over 120,000 veterans were waiting or never received their promised care (Maffessanti). This is one of the main arguments against creating a nationalized health care system as the two would be very similar, and many are afraid it would create the same problem yet on a much larger scale. While this particular plan may not work, it at least allows for a stepping stone and will help us further figure out the best respective plan. 

As we continue to face these issues every day, there comes to a point that it must be changed. The United States must do an overhaul of our health care system to allow individuals access to healthcare, without having to depend on either an employer or the government. It is a shame that individuals are systematically oppressed and displaced from their healthcare due to the shortcomings of our healthcare system. It is vital that every American is entitled to high-quality, affordable health care, transparency throughout the process, and that every American has access to proper medical resources.