I. Introduction I have always wondered that why the medical cost in United States is outrageously expensive as simple diagnosis of a symptom from the doctor would cost ten times more in United States than Korea. Furthermore, if people are already paying large amount of money for these healthcare services it is natural to ask if we are receiving the finest care in the world. However, there is numerous comparison results already have been made so far suggests that United States health expenditure may not be the most efficient spending in the world. In contrast, statistics continuously disclose that we are on the lower group among the developed countries in terms of efficiency. According to the World Health Organization, United States have …show more content…
With these outstanding evidences the Commonwealth Fund placed United States last in terms of overall health system ranking measured by different categories of access to care, equity, quality, efficiency and healthy lives compared to other developed countries. Among those rank categories, our health system is specifically placed last in access to care and efficiency. 37% of the adults in United States reported that they did not receive the recommended treatment, surgery or follow up care due to high cost. 40% of adults who had visited emergency room reported that they could have instead just visited a regular doctor if it was available. U.S. was also ranked last in infant mortality rate and amount of deaths preventable through timely access to healthcare. All these quantitative data of doctor consultation per capita, access to care and efficiency suggest that for how much average US citizen is paying for individual healthcare is greater than other developed countries but efficiency of services does not necessarily follow the same rank as the spending. This paper aims to raise the question about source of high medical expenditure regardless of its low efficiency in general. II. Background In order to specify the source of high healthcare expenditure, we need to know which factors consists of total US health spending. In U.S., most of the healthcare insurance is provided by the private insurance companies
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 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
According to Schroeder “ the United States spends more on health care than any other nation in the world, but ranks poorly on every measure of health status” ( Schroeder,1). Schroeder discussed the two main reasons why the United States ranks so poorly on every measure of the health system. One of the reasons for the low ranking in the American health system is “the pathways to better health do not generally depend on better health care” (Schroeder, 1); the fact that we have access to advance tools and technologies in our health care system does not necessary mean that we are healthier than other countries. Determinants such as behaviors patterns, environmental exposures and social circumstances also greatly influence our health.
has the world’s most expensive healthcare system, yet one-sixth of Americans are uninsured. Approximately one-third (31%) of adults and a little more than one-half (54%) of children do not have a primary care doctor. Federal spending on healthcare in 2005 alone totaled $600 billion, a massive one-quarter of the federal budget. Someone files for bankruptcy every 30 seconds in the U.S of health concerns. And every 1.5 million families lose their homes to foreclosure due to unaffordable medical costs. The U.S. spends six times more per capita on the administration of the health insurance system than Western European nations, who insure all citizens.“ www.realtruth.org/articles/090203-005-health.html. “In United States, the annual cost of health care per capita is $5,711. http://www.visualeconomics.com/healthcare-costs-around-the-world_2010-03-01/#ixzz12f0I1lbk
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").
There have been many studies performed focusing on the rising costs of health care and some of the findings state that the rising cost of healthcare premiums is a worldwide problem. However, I believe they are higher in the U.S. In 2015, U.S. health care costs were $3.2 trillion. That makes healthcare one of the largest U.S. industries, equaling 17.8 % of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in comparison to the late 1960s; where healthcare costs were only $27 billion, or 5% of the GDP, which averaged $9,990 per person each year. The main reason for the rising cost of healthcare is a combination of government policies and lifestyles changes. Examples included lack of coverage or costly coverage, lack of available coverage for
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.
Rising medical costs are a worldwide problem, but nowhere are they higher than in the U.S. Although Americans with good health insurance coverage may get the best medical treatment in the world, the health of the average American, as measured by life expectancy and infant mortality, is below the average of other major industrial countries. Inefficiency, fraud and the expense of malpractice suits are often blamed for high U.S. costs, but the major reason is overinvestment in technology and personnel.
There are many problems with healthcare in America today. One of them including the astronomical cost. According to CDC.ORG in 2007 the average person spends seven thousand four hundred dollars per year on health care alone. This rise in healthcare is extremely detrimental for families, seniors, and people of all ages. With such a high cost of insurance people are forced to make hard choices in
United States spend a huge expense on health care that ranks number 1 among all the countries in the world. In comparison, the rank for the health quality is not among top thirty. That difference between cost and effect has always been under debate. In this aspect, government intervention is partly responsible for two reasons of increase in cost. First, given that Medicare and Medicaid offer limited part of the price but commercial insurances can offer
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.
Garber, A., & Skinner, J. (2008). Is American health care uniquely inefficient? Journal of Economic Perspective, 22(4), 27-50.
America also has poor performance on measures of national health expenditures and administrative costs as well as on measures of administrative hassles, avoidable emergency room use, and duplicative medical testing. Despite our excessive spending, there is still a significant portion of the population who do not receive access to proper healthcare due to reasons of cost. The U.S. ranks a clear last on measures of equity. In fact, the Commonwealth Fund reports that one-third or more lower-income adults in the U.S. said they went without needed care because of costs in the past year. We have been growing economically and technologically at a dramatic pace yet we still rank last in equity and in all three indicators of healthy lives: mortality amenable to medical care, infant mortality, and healthy life expectancy at age 60. We spend the most money on healthcare and yet we live shorter, unhealthier lives, many of which are spent worrying about the cost of medical bills.
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).