The American healthcare system is in a state of crisis. We spend more on healthcare than any other country in the world, yet our health outcomes are not as good as those of other developed countries. The problem is that we have a lot of people who are uninsured or underinsured. This means that they don’t have access to preventive care or basic medical care, which can lead to serious health problems down the road. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the problems with the American healthcare system and why it’s falling short of its promises.
In 2015, Americans spent $3.2 trillion on healthcare or $9,990 per person. This is more than any other country in the world. US spending on health care as a percentage of GDP was 17.1% in 2015, while the OECD average was 9.3%. In 2014, US federal, state, and local governments spent $1.1 trillion on health care, or 32% of total US health care spending. Americans’ out-of-pocket spending on health care was $338.6 billion in 2015 or 10.6% of total US health care spending. US private health insurance spending was $1.1 trillion in 2015 or 33% of total US health care spending.
These numbers make it clear that Americans spend a lot of money on healthcare relative to other countries. But what does this mean for outcomes? One would think that all this spending would lead to better health outcomes for Americans, but unfortunately this is not the case. The United States ranks 37th in the world in life expectancy and 54th in infant mortality rate, according to data from the World Health Organization. This means that although we spend more on health care than anyone else, we are not getting the best results in terms of health outcomes.
So why is this? Part of the problem is that we have a lot of people who are uninsured or underinsured. This means that they don’t have access to preventive care or basic medical care, which can lead to serious health problems down the road. In fact, it is estimated that approximately 27 million Americans are uninsured and another 41 million are underinsured. This is a major problem that needs to be addressed if we want to improve health outcomes in the United States.
Another part of the problem is that our government spends a lot on health care but doesn’t get good results for its investment. In 2014, US federal, state, and local governments spent $1.1 trillion on health care or 32% of total US health care spending. That’s a lot of money but it doesn’t seem to be translating into better health outcomes for Americans. In fact, some experts believe that government involvement in health care actually makes things worse by creating bureaucracy and red tape that makes it difficult for patients to get the care they need in a timely manner
The United States spends more on health care than any other country in the world, yet our health outcomes are not as good as those of other developed countries. One major problem is that we have a lot of people who are uninsured or underinsured and as a result, don’t have access to preventive care or basic medical care.
A study by the Commonwealth Fund found that the U.S. spent $8,508 per person on health care in 2016, which is more than double what was spent in the UK ($3,992), Australia ($4,012) and Canada ($4,447). Yet, the U.S. ranks last among 11 developed countries when it comes to health outcomes.
There are a number of reasons why the U.S. health care system doesn’t deliver on its promises, despite spending more money per person than any other country. One major reason is that we have a lot of people who are uninsured or underinsured and as a result, don’t have access to preventive care or basic medical care.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 28 percent of adults in the U.S. were uninsured in 2016 and 14 percent were underinsured (meaning they had insurance but it didn’t cover all of their medical costs). In contrast, only 5 percent of adults in the UK were uninsured and 6 percent were underinsured.
The high number of uninsured and underinsured Americans means that many people don’t have access to basic medical care or preventive care that could help them avoid serious health problems down the road. For example, someone who doesn’t have insurance may not go to the doctor for a regular check-up and as a result, may not catch a serious illness early enough for it to be treated effectively. Or, someone who has insurance but it doesn’t cover all of their medical costs may not be able to afford to fill a prescription for medication that could prevent a serious health problem from developing.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, was supposed to help reduce the number of people who are uninsured or underinsured by providing subsidies to help people pay for health insurance and expanding Medicaid coverage. However, despite these efforts, there are still millions of Americans who remain without health insurance or who can’t afford to pay their deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs associated with their health insurance plans.
One way to try to improve our health care system would be to provide universal coverage so that everyone has access to basic medical care regardless of whether they have insurance or not. This would ensure that everyone has access to preventive care and basic medical care which could help reduce overall health care costs by preventing serious health problems from developing down the road.
There are a number of steps that can be taken to reduce the infant mortality rate in the US. One step is to improve access to basic medical care. This can be done by expanding Medicaid coverage or increasing funding for programs like the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Another step is to increase the number of primary care physicians (PCPs) in the US. This can be done by increasing funding for medical schools and residency programs or by offering incentives to doctors who choose to practice in underserved areas. Additionally, efforts should be made to increase the rates of breastfeeding, which can be done by providing education and support for mothers who want to breastfeed their infants.
The American healthcare system is an expensive, and does not fully deliver on its promises. In conclusion, we need to demand better from our government and fight for health care reform. The current system is not working and is only getting more expensive. We need to hold our elected officials accountable and push for change. Health care is a human right, and we deserve better than what we have now.
