Healthcare Delivery System : Exploring Our Difference

Managed care dominates health care in the United States. It is any health care delivery system that combines the functions of health insurance and the actual delivery of care, where costs and utilization of services are controlled by methods such as gatekeeping, case management, and utilization review. Different types of managed care plans came into development by three major factors. These factors include choice of providers, different ways of arranging the delivery of services, and payment and risk sharing. Types of managed care organizations include Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) which consist of five common models that differ according to how the HMO is related to the participating physicians, Preferred Provider Organizations

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

Many people believe that the current of health care in the United States is the best health care in the world however it has major shortcomings that has become more visible for the whole world to see. The United States has the most expensive health care system in the world based on health expenditure per capita and on

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.

T.R. Reid uses cost, quality, and choice to fully evaluate healthcare systems all around the world. As an American citizen, I have always thought our system was unfair. The poor suffer more than the rich for going to see a doctor for the same reason. In chapter one of The healing of America, T.R. Reid comments on how many Americans have also started to notice that the American healthcare system is not as great as we once thought. Not only is it unfair, but it is also expensive and unsuccessful (9). By looking at all the other countries’ healthcare systems, Reid would then be able to better pinpoint how America can better its health care system by taking portions of those health systems.

Despite having the most expensive health care system, the United States ranks last overall among 11 industrialized countries on measures of health system quality, efficiency, access to care, equity, and healthy lives, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. The other countries included in the study were Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands,

In The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care, T.R. Reid, a Washington Post reporter and NPR commentator, compares the United States’ health care system to the systems of other industrialized democracies. In this journey, he analyzes costs, quality, and overall functioning of the different systems. Through his first hand experiences around the globe, Reid illustrates a variety of systems, emphasizing the changes America needs.

What does America have to show for all the money it is spending on health care? It wouldn’t be unreasonable to speculate that the U. S. would have the lowest infant mortality, the highest life expectancy, and the most efficient health care in the world. Unfortunately, however, that is not the case. The United States according to the same article, ranks 46th out of 48th in health care efficiency, Serbia and Brazil are the only two ranking lower. Infant mortality and life expectancy in the United States rank 167thand 44th out of 224 respectivelyaccording to the CIA World Factbook (2015). Additionally, approximately 15 percent of people in the U.S. are still uninsured. The return on investment in health care needs to have better results; a system that provides the highest quality care that leaves no one out.

As a country we are facing currently facing a problem based on health care. Every country has their own way of doing things, but which way makes the most sense? Statistics show that Canada’s health care system is working for them, but will it work for the United States? Ezekial J. Emanuel, Holly Dressel, and together, Karen Davis, Cathy Shoen, Katharine Shea, and Kristine Haran, all address possible solutions to this problem. While Emanuel feels that America’s system is sufficient, Dressel, Davis, Shoen, Shea, and Haran believe there are better options. These authors evaluate the different systems based on quality, cost, and accessibility.

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:

Many would argue that here, in the United States, we have the best healthcare in the world. We benefit from the most up to date medical technologies, medications, and services. People come from every corner of the world to take advantage of our top notch physicians and facilities. But is this reputation warranted, and if so, at what cost? The average annual cost per US resident is $7,681; this comprises 16.2% of our gross domestic product. These costs rank us among the highest of industrialized nations (Lundy, 2010). Does this high expenditure equate to better outcomes? According to the National Scorecard on US Health System Performance (2008), the US received a 65 out of 100 possible points.

For over 50 years, the OECD has shown the strength and weaknesses of health care systems in developed and developing countries with the prospects of encouraging economic growth, prosperity and, sustainable development. The past decade, the United States trend highlight that their healthcare system is the most expensive yet ranks well below other counties within the OECD. With recent OECD studies comparing the US to other developed countries like Switzerland, the UK, France, Germany, Sweden and, four others with their unique health systems the US ranks last in most categories. With the comparative studies focused on quality, access, efficiency, equity and, healthy lives, the US must identify and adopt a health system that works best to care for the American population as others in the international communities. One country in particular that offers a good care model for the US to adopt is likely the United Kingdom’s government provided single payer systems, whereas the US health care is a federally funded service (source, 2016). Including the UK’s National Healthcare Service (NHS), that sets quality standards. The NHS works like (p. 25), where everyone pays in, and everyone has access to care. Comparing the US and the UK closely, we will see how well each country 's medical care system performs and the impact it has on each of its citizens.

The United States has no special type of nationwide system of the health care delivery. In order to obtain health care insurance, the individuals must buy it in the private marketplace, or it is given to them by the government . Part of the traditional health insurance plans, permits the unrestricted selection of the health care provider and compensates on the fee for the service basis, recently, it covers less than 30% of all the employees. There are basically two kinds of MCOs: Health Maintenance organizations and Preferred Provider Organizations. About 70% of the employees registered in MCOs. HMO is the health care delivery system that associates