Analysis of Contemporary Health Care Issues

“There are three basic goals for a National Health Care System; 1) keeping people healthy, 2) treating the sick and 30 protecting families against financial ruin from medical bills”, (Physicians for a National Health Program, 2016). No truer statement could there possibly be written or proclaimed as there is a crisis in healthcare costs across the United States. United States, one of the most developed western country, yet we suffer from – higher infant mortality rates, have shorter life spans and are affected by more chronic disease and or illness – than our contemporaries all while spending the most for insurance per capita and less annual doctor visits with less physicians, (OECD Health Data 2015). There is a question to be answered, “why”, why are we trailing our contemporaries and more important than that is, is our National Health Care system really working for us? The year 2010 was the beginning of change in the United States where we transitioned from primarily private insurance and welfare to a universal healthcare model, under President Obama with the signing into Law of the Affordable Health Care Act March of 2010. The purpose of the Affordable health care act is to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable healthcare, however in 2016 we are still questioning we’ve been successful based on funding, government sponsored healthcare programs, effects on the current HCO, elderly, military and accessibility.

Health care spending in the United States of America as a percentage of the economy has reached astonishing heights, equating to 17.7 percent. This number is shocking when compared to other counties; in Australia health care is 8.9 percent, in United Kingdom 9.4 percent, in Canada 11.2 percent. If the American health care system were to hypothetically become its own economy, it would be the fifth-largest in the world. While these statistics sound troubling, they lead us to look for answers about the problems surrounding our system. The first health insurance company was created in the 1930s to give all American families an equal opportunity for hospital care and eventually led to a nationwide economic and social controversy that erupted in the 1990s and continued to be shaped by the government, insurance companies, doctors, and American citizens. In this paper, I will go in to detail about the various opinions regarding the controversy, the history behind health insurance companies, and the main dilemmas brought out by the health care crisis. Greedy insurance companies combined with high costs of doctor visits and pharmaceutical drugs or the inefficient hospitals all over America can only describe the beginning to this in depth crisis. Recently, the United States health care industry has become know for the outrageous costs of insurance models, developments of various social and health services programs, and the frequent changes in medicinal technology.

The U.S. health care system faces challenges that indicate that the people urgently need to be reform. Attention has rightly focused on the approximately 46 million Americans who are uninsured, and on the many insured Americans who face rapid increases in premiums and out-of-pocket costs. As Congress and the Obama administration consider ways to invest new funds to reduce the number of Americans without insurance coverage, we must simultaneously address shortfalls in the quality and efficiency of care that lead to higher costs and to poor health outcomes. To do otherwise casts doubt on the feasibility and sustainability of coverage expansions and also ensures that our current health care system will continue to have large gaps even for those with access to insurance coverage.

Recently the Untied States top priority has been to provide accessible and affordable health care to every American. Those that lack access to coverage find it much more difficult to seek proper treatment and when they do they maybe left with astronomical medical bills. The CommanWealth Fund found that one-third or thirty three percent of Americans forgo health care because of costs and one-fifth or twenty percent are thus left with medical bills that have problems being able to pay. The federal government, through the Affordable Care Act (2010), has mandated that every person have health coverage in order

If there is one thing that most Americans are in agreement with, it is the vile shape of our U.S. health care system. There is no argument that the U.S. health care system is in need of an overhaul, however, there is much debate over just how to effectively go about the process. The public have voiced greatest concern in the health care areas of costs, quality and access. Many presidents have pondered the idea of health care reform; a few even made attempts to start the ball rolling. The first

In recent years, health care has been a huge topic in public debates, legislations, and even in deciding who will become the next president. There have been many acts, legislations, and debates on what the country has to do in regards to health care. According to University of Phoenix Read Me First HCS/235 (n.d.), “How health care is financed influences access to health care, how health care is delivered, the quality of health care provided, and its cost”.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) “health care fraud costs the country an estimated $80 billion dollars a year” ("Health Care Fraud," n.d., p. 1). Because health care costs continue to rise more rapidly than the rate of inflation the threat of health care fraud continues to rise. The Affordable Health Care Act has put new policies in place to identify and stop health care fraud. The FBI along with other government, insurance, and public agencies have joined together to combat fraud at every level. New rules in identifying, investigating, and prosecuting fraud before payments are made to medical providers could save billions of

I feel honored that I have been chosen by you to be able to repair the American health care system. The American Health Care System has been on a continuous rise regarding health care costs for the past decades. Health Care can be viewed as a major topic because it touches everyone from young children, adults, and seniors. In our lives, we will seek care, which may include medical reasons, injuries, and or preventive care. With our Health Care System, it can be viewed as a conglomerate because it includes many aspects such as government agencies, insurance companies, specialists, hospitals, and employers. Moreover, even though the United States Health Care system provides well-equipped medical technology and care, there are quite a few shortcomings that shall be addressed. First off, there are shortcomings with the Affordable Health Care Act (ACA), which includes some disadvantages. One disadvantage is that employers hours are being cut down from full time to part time because they are unable to pay the costs and are only required to cover full time employees. Because of this,

This year being an election year means that the American people are confronted with many issues and disparities that plague our nation. One of these hot button topics is that of healthcare. The United States is the only developed nation without a universal healthcare system, but spends the most for health services. With so many Americans lacking the adequate care needed or facing bankruptcy due to piling medical bills, one must look at the health disparities that are causing this super power nation to inadequately serve its citizens.

Health care in the United States has become a major concern to many Americans. Health care is a part of every person’s life to ensure we continue to live a long eventless life. Many Americans cannot afford the high prices for proper treatment to stay healthy when in need of care. The United States has the highest cost for health care amongst the world; to mitigate these costs, we need additional support from the government to negotiate set standards between health care providers, fewer malpractice lawsuits, and fewer uninsured residents.

The United States health care system guarantees to a part of the population a high level of medical cures, continuously improving thanks to the containment of the cuts of technological innovation. However, the overall situation of the American population’s health put this country into the last places of a special ranking of health care systems among different countries in the world, even though American investments per capita are greater than for other countries. Medical services are of a high standard, but it is on other fronts that the American health care system needs to be strengthened, for example by interfere on access to care. Because of the big amount of money that people pay for their health, the States should be at least in the first three positions of the ranking. Therefore, since the right of healthcare should be free and universal, the United States healthcare system needs a reform to compete with the rest of the world.

Sollecito, W. A., McLaughlin, C. P., & Kaluzny, A. D. (2014). McLaughlin and Kaluzny's continuous quality improvement in health care. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett

Although government has tried to solve or accommodate the nation’s healthcare needs with the passing of these laws, it has also created more problems that solutions. The rise in the amount of money that the government spends is one example of the problems these programs have caused. In Plunder and Deceit published 2016, “In 2013, the government spent 41 percent of its money on Social Security and Medicare. It is predicted that by 2039, Social Security and the healthcare system will take up 14 percent of GDP which is twice the average from the past 40 years” (page

Health care reform has been a big topic since the Clinton administration when First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, took it under her belt to devise a new system. Health care is the provision taken to preserve mental and physical health using prevention and treatment. Compared to other health care systems in the world, the United States is ranked 37th in terms of care, claims Michael Moore (2007). Ironically, our health care system spends more than any other nation on its patients, averaging nearly $8,000 per person (DiNitto, 2012). With soaring costs, it is no surprise that one in every seven Americans are uninsured (Kaiser, 2011). Even with these sorry figures, statistics show that 85% of Americans are satisfied with their health care

In health care, conditions changes often, conditions such as improved technology, aging populations, and patient expectations. It is important for every health care organization to understand the financial background of their company so their finances are managed properly. Hence, Public health care funding controls health care expenditures through monopsony power of government being the sole buyer of health care services. Nevertheless, when sustaining financial health care systems, it does not automatically follow monopsony power but finds a strategy to control health care resources (Birch, Murphy, MacKenzie & Cumming, 2015). In addition, the demand and supply of health care production requires health care organizations to use advanced technology. However, the cost to adopt technology increases expenditure as demand increases to provide patient care. Hence, it is important to allocate budgets on a needs-based approach to control and improve efficiency of resources used. Besides, it is hard to increase expenditures in difficult economic times (Birch et al.,