An In-depth Look at the American Healthcare System

With the skyrocketing healthcare costs, it is time for a major reform

Have you ever come out of a hospital or medical office with a feeling like you just drained your bank account? Well, I had — after I went to see my eye doctor.

I needed to get a refill for my prescription contact lenses, so I set up an appointment with the eye doctor who accepted my insurance. On the phone, before I arrived at the office, I had been told that my insurance would cover my eye exam, but would not cover the lenses. I was fine with that as I always paid for lenses out of my pocket. As I came into the office, to my shocking surprise, the doctor told me I had to pay $75 for the fitting and adjustment of my lenses. Yes, that’s right- $75 with that glossy insurance card that is supposed to cover my eye care. I said to myself: “What is the purpose of this card if I can’t use it to take care of my basic need — my eye health! If my eye exam doesn’t cover at least the prescription of lenses, then what does it cover? I don’t mind paying $100 extra for my lenses, but why do I have to pay $75 just to have the lenses prescribed to me if I have the insurance? Also, glasses were not an option for me either as I learned that my insurance wouldn’t cover the purchase unless I was 21 and younger.

The bottom line: I scrambled to pay for my visit out of my pocket.

If you think about it, without a good vision, you can’t get around in any of your daily activities. It is essential to life. For me, having the ability to maintain my good vision is a priority in life. I want to be able to take care of my eyes without putting a financial strain on my budget.

All of a sudden, I had a memory recall of many people and how they struggled to pay for their essential treatments — some of them being basic, and some are even life-saving procedures, such as cancer therapies. For example, people who have a chronic condition, have to rely on affordable health insurance. Sometimes, it is the decision of life or death. Without life-saving treatments and therapies, they cannot cure their diseases and stand a chance of living a meaningful life. These people have come to succumb to the grueling reality of the health care system in America that failed to meet their basic needs.

The American healthcare system is crooked and in need of major reform

I’m sure my example will resonate with a lot of people who have been in a similar situation. It serves its purpose of illustrating the urgent need for a change in the healthcare system.

That leads me to one fundamental question: “Why doesn’t America, being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, provide its citizens with access to affordable health care? Why are European countries like Germany and France leading by example and America is not? Why do poor third-world countries have free health care for all and America does not?

The United States has the highest costs of healthcare compared to most industrialized nations. However, it falls short in terms of health access and efficiency of care.

Let’s examine some facts about the US healthcare system:

The United States spends more money on health care per capita compared to other developed nations.

The United States spends more on administrative costs than other developed countries

Providers charge more for services in the US than in other countries, which accounts for the higher costs of the medical care

The major paradox however is that despite the US higher healthcare costs, the health outcomes are NOT better compared to other developed countries. In some aspects, such as life expectancy, infant mortality, and unmanaged diabetes, it actually performs worse. So as it turns out, the higher costs do not justify the outcome.

Factors that contribute to higher health costs

Experts claim that higher health care costs are tied to the nation’s overall higher rates of poverty and the socioeconomic status of people in general. The social determinants — poverty, poor housing, obesity crisis, education put the health of many people at stake, compounding the higher health costs. If too many people are sick and have issues, then the demand for health care services of course will increase. At the same time, people that can’t afford health insurance will not be able to get adequate care they need, leading to a deterioration of their medical condition.

For example, currently, the US leads the world in the number of obesity rates, and that factor alone puts a huge burden on the healthcare system. According to statistics: “Disease burden is higher in the U.S. than in comparable countries. Hence, it appears that, if the government takes the appropriate steps in eliminating or reducing the social factors that play into the healthcare costs, then it will solve the problem.

In 2017, the DALYs rate was 31% higher in the U.S. than the comparable country average.”

“Hospital admissions for preventable diseases are more frequent in the U.S. than in comparable countries”. United States has a 37% higher rate of hospital admissions than the average of other countries.”

How the US health care compares with the rest of the world

“The United States is the only industrialized country in the world that does not have Universal Health Coverage for all citizens. While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was a step in the direction of universal coverage, as of the end of 2016, 9% of all Americans (and 12.4% of US adults aged 18 to 64) still did not have health insurance.”

For example, countries such as Canada and Taiwan have a single-payer health care system where the government pays providers for health services rather than private insurers. Hospitals and clinics cannot impose their fees for billing patients. In other words, patients will receive all the care through the public system that covers the costs of services they obtain.

While it is a fact the United States has the world’s renowned health care workers, the services they provide are only available to those that can afford them.

Looking into the future — steps the government can take to improve health care

The federal government should take crucial steps towards improving health care not only on a local level but on a national level as well. It should aim towards implementing a system where healthcare is affordable and high-quality at the same time. It has to ensure that every one of its citizens, rich or poor, has access to medical services. To do that, it needs to target the factors that contribute to the higher health care costs — which are poverty, obesity crisis, poor housing, and education. Perhaps, by taking control of these issues, it can bring health care costs down and make healthcare affordable to an average American citizen.