Health Is Not A Luxury

Furthermore, the United States spends nearly double the average $3,923 for the 15 countries ("Health Care Cost," 2011).” Accordingly the U.S. throws away more money than any other country on healthcare which consequently could jeopardize the medical attention that is being provided.

The U.S. Health system spends a higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country but ranks 37 out of 191 countries according to its performance.” (WHO, 2000, p. 1) Progression in the United States has not kept up with the advances in other wealthy nations dealing with the population health. Disease and chronic disability report almost 50% of America health problem (JAMA, 2013).

The United States has a very unique healthcare system. Does this mean that we are simply leagues ahead of the rest of the world in healthcare? Unfortunately, not at all. The ideal of American exceptionalism is apt to describe our healthcare system. That is, our current system is exceptionally bad. Per capita, the United States spends “twice the average of other developed countries” on healthcare ("United States Per Capita Healthcare Spending Is More Than Twice The Average Of Other Developed Countries"). Yet, in the World Health Organization’s ranking of healthcare systems by nation, the U.S. comes in at a dismal 37th place, despite spending the most per person of any country on Earth on healthcare ("World Health Organization’s Ranking of the World’s Health Systems").

The United States health care system ranks 37th in the world. Statistically, it’s bizarre how United States is amongst one of the most advanced nations in the world and the fact that it spends more on its healthcare

Findings from Squires and Blumenthal (2016) showed that only 8.9 percent of Americans are now uninsured, and since the Affordable Care Act went into effect in 2010 there are 20 million more Americans who now have health insurance and access to affordable care.

Despite the countless advanced in technology and the abundance of health care organization popping up all over the place, whether they are free standing clinics, hospitals, urgent cares or etc, many people still lack the ability to receive quality health care. This has become a concern throughout the world, but especially a more vocal concern for residents of the United States in the past few years. In this paper we will discuss the reasons preventing access to quality health care and how we can overcome the many obstacles that stand in our way to provide quality health care to many who lack it today.

The United States health care system is unique among other advanced countries. This system does not have a central governing agency, it is delivered under imperfect market conditions, there are multiple players and payers, and there is no universal health care coverage (Shi & Singh, 2015, p. 9). In a time where healthcare reform is being discussed, it is important for the United States to consider what is proactive as well as what is failing the system. That is what Sick Around The World did; the documentary compared five other countries’ (United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, and Switzerland) healthcare systems to see how they stacked up against the United States.

“According to the report, titled Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010, 49.9 million Americans or 16.3 percent of the total US population had no health insurance in 2010. That percentage represents a slight increase on 2009’s figures, when 49 million citizens or 16.1 percent of the population was uninsured” (Gamser, 2011).

The United States spend entirely to much money on health care compared to other industrialized countries. Yet, other countries achieved far better health for more people at less cost, according to OECA. Of the 34 countries rated by the OECD study, the United States ranks #1 in health care spending per capita and #1 in percentage

The single most important impetus for healthcare reform throughout recent history has been rising costs (Sultz, 2006). In the book called The healing of America: a global quest for better, cheaper, and fairer health care, Reid wrote that the nation’s health care system has become excessively expensive, ineffective, and unjust. Among the world’s developed nations, the US ranks near the bottom for healthcare access and quality. However, the US ranks at the top for health expenditure as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and average of $7,400 per person (Reid, 2010). Therefore, Americans are spending

Every individual in the world deserves to enjoy health and wellness. Maintaining or achieving proper health needs enables individuals to be productive at work and leisure. Traditionally, many people have had barriers obtaining adequate healthcare due to economic constraints or personal inconveniences. Despite impressive technological advances in medicine, the challenge of delivering quality healthcare to the Americans continues to be debated amongst the nation’s political and healthcare leaders. The aging baby-boomers and the increased number of uninsured people add to the equation of population growth which results in limited access to primary healthcare for the entire public. On the

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.

Everyone has their own views on what they think the United States healthcare system should consist of. Consequently, the healthcare system has been flawed for many years and does not plan to change anytime soon. According to Luft (2006), “rapid and wide-reaching technological innovation, the ready access to care for the insured, and clinical and patient autonomy” (p.1). These are some of the strengths the US healthcare system are proficient in providing. In contrast, the weaknesses of the healthcare system outweigh the system’s strengths. Luft (2006) examined and acknowledged the following:

The U.S. spends more on health care than the next 10 biggest spenders combined: Japan, Germany, France, China, the U.K., Italy, Canada, Brazil, Spain and Australia. 10 of the 20 occupations

In the year 2012, expenditure on US health care amounted to 2.8 million trillion dollars, accounting for 17.2 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the US. The annual average cost of health care for the characteristic American family of 4 amounted to more than