Universal Healthcare sounds appealing, but it actually lowers the quality and quantity of healthcare services that are rendered to patients, thus downgrading the healthcare system as a whole. Not having to pay, with everyone having coverage leads to longer wait times for medical service and many people overusing health care services. Implementation of Universal Healthcare in the United States would lead to a detrimental crippling of the nation’s health system. For those countries that have implemented Universal Healthcare or a system similar to it, all or most aspects of the coverage such as cost and care is generally provided by and tightly controlled by the government, a public-sector committee, or employer-based programs, with most of the funding essentially coming from tax revenues or budget cuts in other areas of spending. This paper will conclude with comparing the US healthcare system to others and how the US has one of the most advanced systems in the world.
America needs comprehensive health care reform, and immigrants should be a part of the movement. But many American citizens might ask that pertinent question: why should they cover the expense for illegal immigrants to access health care? The answer is plain and simple: until congress passes immigration laws that work, people are going to migrant here illegally. And to deny migrants access to affordable health care, Americans are not only denying them their human right, they are also putting individual and national health at risk. I believe that this country – which has the medical advancements and the facilities to ensure the health of its citizens – should reach out to its non-citizens, legal and illegal, until it
The first characteristic of the US health care system is that there is no central governing agency which allows for little integration and coordination. While the government has a great influence on the health care system, the system is mostly controlled through private hands. The system is financed publically and privately creating a variety of payments and delivery unlike centrally controlled healthcare systems in other developed countries. The US system is more complex and less manageable than centrally controlled health care systems, which makes it more expensive. The second characteristic of the US health care system is that it is technology driven and focuses on acute care. With more usage of high technology,
Immigrants are faced with a lot of barriers when it comes to taking full advantage of basic preventive care services available to them. Of the diverse population of immigrants coming to the United States, over half (53%) of them are older Hispanics from Latin America (Strunk, Townsend-Rocchiccioli, & Sanford, 2013). This paper focuses on US-dwelling Hispanics, aged 65 years old and above. This paper will depict how failing to acculturate, lacking financial resources, and having limited ability to communicate in English pose a challenge for the older Hispanic population to obtain high quality and cost-effective patient care.
Through the years people in the Unites States have struggle with issues dealing with having health coverage. In March 2014 Obama care also known as Affordable Care Act was sign into law making it possible for the lower and middle class to be able to afford health insurance. The affordable care act was in congress from 2009 to 2010.With the act been pass it made it easier for the people to qualify and get help and pay so little with no extra cost. Even thought the insurance is not free it is now affordable for people so now people have a wider range of coverage options. With the affordable care act been pass they are hoping with the affordable screening and preventive services they can be more proactive with people’s healthcare and delay
There have been government programs in the past which have also attempted to make healthcare more accessible and affordable. Two such prominent programs are Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare provides health care coverage to the elderly, while Medicaid provides coverage to the poor. They were endorsed by President Johnson. However, even with the implementation of Medicare and Medicaid, which were enacted in 1965, there are many who are still uninsured (“Affordable Care Act”) . One of the goals of the Affordable Care Act was to help such individuals receive health care coverage. While attempting to garner support for the law, many of its advocates, including President Obama, also promised that those who already had coverage they were content would be able to keep it.
González, H. M., Ceballos, M., Tarraf, W., West, B. T., Bowen, M. E., & Vega, W. A. (2009). The Health of Older Mexican Americans in the Long Run. American Journal of Public Health, 99(10), 1879–1885. http://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2008.133744
“15% of New Mexico’s general fund ($4.9 billion spent on Medicaid in NM) is spent on Medicaid and 61% of all federal funds received by New Mexico is for Medicaid” (KFF 2017). As reported by the KFF, adults and children make up “82% of Medicaid enrollment” while the elderly and disabled made up only “18% of enrollment.” However, there’s a disproportionate share of spending as “59% of expenditures” go towards adults and children, but “41% of expenditures” went towards elderly and the disabled Medicaid coverage. Similar examples of this inequality has led some members of congress to debate proposals to reduce federal Medicaid which would “reduce federal Medicaid spending by 41% nationally over the 2017-2026 period” (KFF 2017). This budget cut will increase the number of those uninsured, reduce healthcare access, increase the pressure on state budgets (will hurt poorer states like New Mexico the most), and can cause a decrease in economic activity at both a state and federal
According to a study in 2009, “Half a million Mexican immigrants living in California receive medical, dental or prescription services every year south of the border” (Gorman, 2014). This is just counting the state of California. The number of Mexican immigrants and their families living in the United States that choose to receive health treatment in Mexico is undoubtedly higher. Why do Hispanics, especially of Mexican descent, living in the US choose to travel south for various health treatments? By comparing and contrasting healthcare access, quality, and cost, both in Mexico and in the United States, we can appreciate and evaluate the healthcare strengths and weakness of both nations and understand why some Hispanics in the US are travelling
United States of America is the only advanced nation that does not provide their citizens with some sort of health coverage. Americans go on with health care if they can afford it and those who are not able to afford health care have trouble dealing with health care coverage or poor treatment. In fact, thirty- two million Americans deal with no health care. This being true, President Obama followed through with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Ever since then, there has been chaos between two opposing groups, the Pro Health Care and Con Health Care.
You mention one of the most important issues affecting the United States health care system and It is one related to racial groups. I believe that Hispanic is one of the racial group suffering from an inadequate access to health care and preventive care. Latinos are exposed to numerous lifestyle features that affect negatively their health behaviors, besides they are subject to occupational hazards and unfavorable residential-environmental conditions throughout their life . Definitely, Latino population health is not static and is constantly influenced by demography, diseases , and social issues. Demographically the Latino population is increasing due to immigration and fertility. According
Access and availability of primary care providers are just two of many drivers that are shaping the health care industry. Passage of the ACA will result in improved access however the challenge of having enough primary care physicians for poor communities has not been properly addressed. Health care administrators in impoverished communities will have to be resourceful in attracting primary care providers to serve in their communities. The lesson provided by Cuba has shown that through their network of neighborhood clinics, preventative care can be successful (Bourne, Keck, & Reed, 2006). Cuba has shown that low cost care can result in health care outcomes that are comparable to the US (Bourne, Keck, & Reed, 2006). US health care is undergoing a transformation that
One of the many questions Americans and politicians had was that they wanted to know who was going to be covered and who was going to lose coverage. Despite the lack of support for Obamacare it did help many citizens receive healthcare that would have never received it. One of the biggest concerns was that with the implementation of a new plan they would lose their coverage and put many at
Despite the increased access to heath care in Mexico, Mexicans do not consider it as the first line of care due to the increased importance given to folk medicine, family and over the counter medicine. Medicine that patients in the US can only get by prescription such as antibiotics IM injections, IV fluids and birth controls this population can purchase them from Mexico at low and be mailed to them in the US. This behavior accounts to the low access to care in the US. Due to low literacy level and socio economic status, many Mexicans in the US
Health care in Brazil became a major issue between the years 1985-1988 (Nascimento, 2013). The citizens took notice that a large gap between health care services provided to the wealthy and services provided to the rest of the population existed. Health care in Brazil became a right to all citizens in 1988 and the Sistema Unico de Saude- SUS (Unified Health Care System) was established (Nascimento, 2013). Citizens are able to purchase private insurance provided that they can afford it. The Brazilian health care system is funded by the government through social security, taxes, and those employed by the government. This system was instituted during a time in the nation’s history that was politically and