Cost Of Healthcare Research Paper

One of the issues that is widely discussed and debated concerning the United States economy is the healthcare system. Unlike in the majority of developed and developing countries, the healthcare system in the United States is not public, meaning that the state does not provide free or cheap healthcare services. This paper addresses many of the factors contributing to the rising cost of healthcare.

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.

Although the financial constraint was one of the initial triggers that made government to move toward privatization of health care, the argument of those who oppose to privatization remains at the prediction of future damages to the health care system caused by the privatization, not about the resolution of financial crisis. (Barkun, 2008; CBC, 2006; CNA, 2013; Deber, 2013; McDonald & McIntyre, 2014; ONA,

The health care system is one of the largest industries in the nation. It employs nearly twelve and a half million people. Even though this many people are employed by health care systems, there is little to no competition between the many different systems. This results in the cost being whatever the system wants. People who are ill or

A major contributor to the rise of healthcare cost is that heath spending for individuals is primarily funded by third-parties. Because consumers of healthcare share little of the financial burden of the cost of the care they receive, patients and physicians are incentivized to utilize healthcare at a higher rate than they would if cost was a larger factor. The United States healthcare systems is based on a capitalist system but it operates in an imperfect marketplace that is no competitive. The current marketplace is not highly regulated as there is not a national health care program for all Americans which allow prices to be regulated and controlled effectively by a single regulating body. In this imperfect

Globally, the United States has one of the largest and most convoluted healthcare systems, whereas universal healthcare coverage seems extremely farfetched. Annually, the US spends over $3 trillion on healthcare. Nevertheless, we have the worst health outcomes when compared to other industrialized countries. As stated by Anja Rudiger (2008), “Recent data suggest that around 101,000 deaths a year can be attributed to the underperformance of the US healthcare system.” Thus, the United States’ healthcare system greatly relies on revenue. Both funding and the distribution of services are commercially structured and held accountable by investors to increase financial gains. According to Andrew Jameton and Jessica Pierce (1997), “the US healthcare system increasing appears to have

This study will argue in support of universal healthcare as a financial and healthcare-based initiative in the Unite States. The overarching problem of healthcare in the U.S. is based on the high costs of treatment and insurance company profiteering, which can be controlled through government regulation and price caps on medical costs for the American citizen. Currently, the private healthcare industry is an unregulated “free market” system that does not control the cost of healthcare pricing, which could be regulated by government caps on medical supplies, physician services, and healthcare services. In Canada, for instance, the cost of medical supplies and physician services are limited by the government, which prevents insurance companies and doctors from raising prices for profits. The U.S. could easily apply his method to healthcare services as the

The title of the book being reviewed is Critical Condition: How Health Care in America Became Big Business and Bad Medicine written by Donald Barlett and James Steele in 2004. This title explains what will be described in the book; how health care was transformed into more of a business and reduced the quality of care to the communities served. The main audience was to Americans in general. The purpose of this book was to show Americans the flawed health care system and explain how it grew out of control. The quality has decreased significantly, access to care has been restricted by the insurance moguls and lack of paying providers. Lastly, the cost of going to see a provider for any treatment has skyrocketed while the economy was unstable. The argument was that changing United States health care to a single-payer system will benefit Americans with better, more quality care and also reduce cost overall by eliminating private insurers.

The United States has been in controversy for years in regards to whether or not it should adopt universal healthcare. Many people think that we should not have it, but I, along with many other Americans, believe that it would be in the country’s interest to have a system where healthcare is more readily accessible. The main concern with this matter is money and profits. The healthcare system is often referred to as a money-driven industry due to the profits healthcare providers receive. Businesses sell goods and get a profit in return, and the same applies to hospitals and clinics. Healthcare providers treat patients, prescribe medicines, and perform surgeries all in accordance with getting paid. Physicians do not get reimbursed for speaking

Fee-for service arrangements prevailed as the preferred vehicle for financing health care services since World War II. As employers began to offer health insurance, premiums were fixed in such a way that most patients did not bear the full cost of their health care. As employer premiums rose to meet the escalating cost of health care services, efforts by government, business and the insurance industry focused on controlling utilization and reducing health care cost (Cox, 2001). Group health cooperatives were formed as early precursors of the modern health maintenance organization. As managed health care became more widespread, methods of cost containment became more prevalent by defining medical necessity, coverage policies, practice guidelines,

Healthcare in the United States is rooted in the private sector. The private sector directly funds 56% of the expenditures through private health insurance, household expenditures and copays, and other private expenditures. (CMS, 2014) The US healthcare system can thank the private sector for providing much strength such as new diagnostic technologies, innovative treatments and procedures, and dynamism. American hospitals and physicians are regarded internationally as being of high quality. Americans can also be proud that the physician- patient relationship is among the most trusted and valued relationships in the country. By allowing the private sector to take a lead role in the healthcare system, the United States values

The healthcare system plays a key role in the economic stability of our country, as every year trillions are spent in attempt to combat disease and health issues that plaque humanity. As it makes up a significant amount of the expenditures in the economy, so the costs associated with health care of those in pain from illness and injury, including lost productivity, increased need of assistance in living and also the cost of death in some cases, is important to the economic stability and over all standard of living in our country. The key to economic prosperity is balancing the need for care with the costs of illness to keep as many people healthy and well without breaking the bank of collective society. The costs of healthcare have been increasingly problematic in recent years with so many issues surrounding the current system. With the “total health care spending in the United States expected to reach $4.8 trillion in 2021, up from $2.6 trillion in 2010 and $75 billion in 1970, meaning that health care spending will account for nearly 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or one-fifth of the U.S. economy, by 2021” (Aetna). With this in mind it is apparent that as we look at the trillion-dollar industry of the medical community it seems that it needs to be a major focus of our nation as a whole and with the many issues come many creative solutions. First let us analyze the reasons behind the current cost and the major problems facing this industry and than discus what

Nationalized health care is cost effective because more healthy people are buying into health insurance, helping to pay for the money insurance companies will have to spend on a chronically ill population. Moreover, increased federal subsidies are also helping the poorest afford premium prices. 86% of those who participated in the exchanges set up by the ACA received a subsidy. Increased affordability under the ACA has led to the smallest growth in health care spending in over 50 years (Vaida). Nationalized health care leads to greater efficiency in the health care system and was found by the CBO to actually reduce costs. Additionally, the system of the ACA reduces premium prices by supporting competition through state and federal exchanges that directly pit private plans against each other and against a public option. This system is also key because it prioritizes efficiency. Hospitals are financially incentivized to provide high-quality care. Our current health care has shifted towards avoiding long-term, costly health complications through prevention: “The cost-cutting sections contain provisions designed to essentially reengineer health care to favor efficient, effective treatments and preventive medicine over expensive but relatively ineffective services”

In US healthcare, the open market has provided us a situation where we consume twice as abundant as other developed countries but end up at the low end of health status. That arise a market failure in medical markets, and there must be some particular steps taken for reconstructing the United States health care system to avoid market failures in such a prominent sector. In fact, the rising medical costs in the nation appears to influence negatively on the medical markets across the land, the role of government is to reform heath care system, pass laws, and regulations that should reduce the cost and provide the care to all to prevent such market failures. However, there are certain other recommendations implemented by many regarding mitigating

In the United States almost all levels of healthcare are delivered by the private sector providers. Many hospitals and health facilities are owned and run by profit making companies. Doctors and other health workers are either independent practitioners or happen to work for private-sector healthcare institutions. Access to healthcare is acquired through