The On The Health Care System

The U.S. health care system is way more complex than what meets the eye. A major difference between the health care system in the U.S. and other nations, is that the U.S. does not have universal health care. Lack of a universal health care opens up the doors for competition amongst insurance, physicians, technology, hospitals and outpatient services.

In our first week of class, we have looked at the first three chapters in, Health Care Delivery in the United States. The first chapter talks about how the health care system has moved from a mindset of restoring a person’s health, into the phase of preventative medicine, which we see now. This has resulted from measurement of how the health care system is working, and with research looking at patients throughout the years. We now know, that any problem, disease, or condition, should be treated early or prevented if possible. The health care system has been working with public education to make citizens aware of what tests and preventative programs will be of assistance to them. (Knickman & Kovner, A., 2015).

The health care system in America has continued to fail many Americans until date. Although the government continues to try and improve it, America still has one of the most expensive yet worst health care systems in the developed world (Hellman, 2014). Health care reform needs to be greatly focused on in order to combat the inequalities within the system. While reading Mama Might Be Better Off Dead: The Failure of Health Care in Urban America, the author described numerous ways in which the health care system failed the Banes’s family.

Great job by Team 1. I think it was very helpful to have a learning agenda and providing guidance for the rest of the class about the questions posted. Your slides were a great visual aid as a way to summarize all of the material learned this week through the lectures and readings. I also think that the questions, especially # 3 and #4, allow students to really think, analyze and do more research about this week’s topics, allowing us to put into practice what we have learned this week. I also think that it might be interesting in future lectures, when we shift from the US health care system to other national health care systems, to compare the different disparities and how these are being addressed.

Money plays a huge role in access, therefore it is a vital issue to discuss. Within the current system, lack of money results in lack of health care, which leaves thousands of people without any health care coverage. Between 2001 and 2005, the number of people paying for health insurance increased 30%, however income only raised 3% (Health Care Problems). Adequate income is a necessity and unfortunately that is not present. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the average annual premium across the country is $16,000. Currently, the average annual income in the United States is $51,107. Mint Money Management suggests that about 4-6% of one’s total income should be spent on insurance, including life, disability, and health insurance. However, the averages in the United States show that the average person spends about 31% of their income on health insurance, which is not financially beneficial. When this rise in health insurance is not parallel to the inflation of income, innocent people are left without a method to achieve health care. There is a program for those who can’t afford health insurance out of pocket nor have access to it, and that is called Medicaid. Issues still exist with the program. There is only so much funding, which leaves many still uninsured. Additionally, people with Medicaid have difficulty

We all know death is inevitable, as morbid as it sounds, but we also all would like to prolong death as long we can to live long, happy lives. Unfortunately, some people fail to fully connect how their daily lifestyle impacts the ability to live these ideal long and happy lives. As the CDC (2016) states, nearly 70% of the U.S. population is considered overweight or obese and almost 40 million people still smoke. These statistics indicate that there are numerous unhealthy behaviors that a bulk of our population chooses to participate in. This brings us to the question, what would it take to shift our country into not only helping them to stop, but also them wanting to stop partaking in these unhealthy behaviors and truly fulfill the desire to want to live longer? Since the majority of the population relies on the U.S. health system to help treat them once arguably preventable health issues arise, why not take the opportunity to use the same system to help combat these unhealthy behaviors from the start. The U.S. health system could implement more educational opportunities, specific prevention programs, help reduce health disparities, increase health literacy, and offer incentives for healthy behaviors.

Discuss why we have the healthcare system that we have today. In doing so, use sociological theories to guide your analysis/argument and incorporate pertinent historical, cultural and societal events/information.

What is the real and perceived performance of the U.S. health care system? Are the views different among patients, providers, payers, and policy makers? Why or why not?

The idea of passing the health care reform was to expand health care coverage, however, in order to do so, many changes must be implemented in order to fulfill the ACA 's promises. The first of which is allowing all individuals to acquire health insurance no matter the age, pre-existing conditions, or other unfair practices. Statistics show that “half of Americas” have a preexisting medical condition in which with the passage of the ACA, it allows individuals to acquire health insurance without the worry of having to pay high insurance bills (Moisse, 2011). The reason why having preexisting health conditions is no longer a factor in acquiring health insurance is because with the passage of the ACA (as discussed earlier, it was made a mandate to acquire health insurance) it is expected that it will balance out economically with the people who require more medical help to their healthier counterparts that do not require as much medical attention (Goodnough, 2016).

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.

The United States health care system is the most expensive in the world. It spends

Martin Luther King, Jr made the following statement: "Of all the injustices in the world, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane." Describe how you would like to contribute to ensuring quality healthcare for all people. (250 words or less) My past experiences have allowed me to relate to a vastly diverse group of individuals, and for that reason I am grateful of my success and tribulations.

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

The current state of United States’ health care system is one of the most polarizing subjects of debate among scholars and other health care professionals across the globe. This can be attributed to the fact that at one extreme end, there are some who argue that that Americans have the best system of health care in the world (MePhee, 2013). Perhaps the availability of the state-of-the-art facilities and free medical technology that have become highly symbolic of the various industries in the United States have motivated the idea of the country’s health care system being unparalleled to others. However, there is a common belief that the fight for universal health care can only be successful if its current state of health care is described as a failure in the modern era as emphasized by MePhee (2013).

With every civilian in an industrialized country there is people who get sick, and or injured. When they get injured or sick they need medical attention and healthcare. A healthcare system is defined as ‘A health system, also sometimes referred to as health care system or healthcare system, is the organization of people, institutions, and resources that deliver health care services to meet the health needs of target populations.’ With that help usually comes with a big bill for the services provided. Most civilians can’t afford that bill because it is costly. With the first health reform in fifty-years making its way across our country it is of question compared to other healthcare systems in other countries. A healthcare system is in the implementation process to which has gotten the name of ‘ObamaCare.’ It is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), or Affordable Care Act (ACA) for short. The ACA was signed into law to reform the health care industry by President Barack Obama in 2010 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012. The goal of ObamaCare is to give more American civilians affordable, good healthcare insurance. This will also try to decrease the amount of health care spending in the United States. Its secondary goal is to make affordable healthcare better, and at a better quantity. They want healthcare to be faster and more productive while being cheaper for everyone. This are paid for through taxes and subsidies and other reforms throughout the