Essay Example on Americans Suffer Exploitation in Uneven Health Care

Introduction

Health care service is like any other and Americans expect cost transparency in order to make transparent choices and maximize value. However, in America, health care quality is uneven. 'There are very high costs with less involvement by the law making innocent Americans suffer exploitation' (Steves). America's issue with health matters because it means hurting consequences to the citizens who can do nothing but wait for a bill for equity to be due.

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Speaking from a general point of view, most European countries finished the fight for affordable healthcare a decade ago. In research by JP Griffin Group, a decade ago saw European countries adopt a health care system with one goal in mind: 'to ensure that every citizen has access to essential health services' (Steves). Given that America has been around for as long as Europe has been, America is still fighting for affordable health care while Europe finished its fight a decade ago. For most of its battle, America has tried every possible event they have landed on to regulate the healthcare system of the country but to some extent failed.

Why Affordable Healthcare is an Issue in the US

According to a recent study by The Commonwealth Fund, the US comes last in a survey of 11 countries' healthcare systems (Schneider, Sarnak, Squires, Shah & Doty). In this study, the performance of the overall industry is measured from five factors such as; administrative efficiency, care process, equity, outcomes, and access and in four out of five factors, the US takes position 11. Affordable healthcare is an issue in the US because even the legislation cannot get an e grip of the system and this has seen the scheme grow to become more expensive and less accessible to common citizens. The issue of affordable healthcare becomes much of a big problem because one of the richest countries in the whole world has high quality doctors with excellent hospital systems but has the quality of the system broken. 'Healthcare is no longer affordable because the litmus test for affordability in the American hospital system is having a lot of money' (Schneider et al.,). Meaning those who can afford healthcare would get it while those who can are not treated. The biggest problem in America's healthcare system is the lack of precise mechanisms to curb excessive charges.

Whose Responsibility is It?

'It is the government's responsibility to ensure citizens get access to affordable healthcare' (Steves). Affordable healthcare is not beneficial to the citizens but the government. This is because unhealthy people mean a vulnerable and weak country. Therefore, the one reason why the government shoulder's responsibility of ensuring citizens gets access to affordable healthcare is on the basis that a whole nation indicates a string nature. Just as national security is the responsibility of the government, so is affordable healthcare. Trying to shift this responsibility to another agency would cause the country to rise to healthcare disasters. If costs continue to go up, then people might need to move to other countries to seek affordable healthcare. Why then would citizens work to improve a state and a government that is quick to abandon them when they get sick? The same citizens would move their finances overseas causing a direct impact on the economy. The government is responsible for developing Acts that would fight for affordability in healthcare.

What is Universal healthcare?

According to World Health Organization, Universal healthcare means that 'all persons and communities can use the preventive, promotive, rehabilitative, curative and palliative health services they need to be effective while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose communities to financial hardship' (World Health Organization). According to the same report by the World Health Organization, there are three related objectives in universal healthcare. These objectives are:

1. Having the quality of health services good enough to make a change in the health of those receiving the services

2. Ensuring equal access to healthcare service. This is because everyone needs to be attended to health-wise and should not only have access when they can pay for them and

3. Having communities shielded against financial risks and making sure that the cost that comes with using health care services does not place patients at risk of financial harm.

Importance of Universal Healthcare

The primary aim of universal healthcare is 'to make sure that every single citizen in a country gets access to health services without being at risk of financial loss regardless of their socio-economic position' (World Health Organization). Mostly, universal healthcare is also given support because it expresses concerns over equity and honoring every person's right to good health globally. For these reasons, I believe universal healthcare is essential since it gives to enable the government to ensure control of a massive amount of a country's economy. Additionally, universal healthcare permits the government to decide on who can afford and who might not afford without basing this decision on cost. Universal healthcare can also be used as a tool to determine where a physician might practice and which class of citizens can access a particular doctor. Comprehensive health care is essential because it enables the government controls the lives of its people to the extent of showing that the administration cares. In the end, universal health care is essential because it reduces the cost of treatment for everyone.

The US Does Not Need Healthcare Coverage

Nearly every country in the world wants universal health care. However, the US has kept on clinging to a corrupt system for years, and this could serve as proof that the country does not need universal healthcare policies. For many years, the US has been known to be the only wealthy country that lacks universal healthcare because even weaker states have developed some strategies to boost comprehensive health care. The reason why the US does not need a universal healthcare system is partly due to cultural reasons. Cultural reasons as to why America does not provide universal healthcare are; the country's dedication to a free market system, the idea of individualism and also the belief in personal responsibility. Absence of a comprehensive healthcare system would be an actual step to have the country move towards high-level implementation of a free-market system. The country's ideas of individualism also make up the reasons as to why America does not need a universal plan. In fact, in current America, 'the creation of a system that unites citizens is considered entirely accidental' because like it is, everyone should live independent from the other in the US.

Who Benefits From Private Insurance?

Private health insurance is beneficial to the individual whose name features on the insurance contract. The consumer taking up private insurance benefits the most because this kind of coverage is 'cost effective and protects an individual against health issues that might come unexpectedly' (Private Healthcare Australia). Additionally, the consumer also benefits from private insurance because he is provided with a higher form of control over his healthcare, over the choices of a doctor, over the decisions of services he wishes to enjoy. People with private insurance enjoy peace of mind because they are relaxed knowing that there is enough coverage for the best form of treatment available when necessary. However, the government also benefits to some extent from personal health covers because the amount of money contributed by an individual is taxed and this directly goes to the country's financial bucket to strengthen the economy of the country.

Is Medical Insurance Enough For Everyone?

Currently, the argument over the future of America's affordable healthcare is taking an ordinary reality. Simply because an individual is insured does not mean that he can afford the doctor of his choice, a hospital of his choice or other expensive medical bills. Medical insurance might not be enough for everyone because the point of insurance is to shield patients from the unexpectedly high cost of treatment. However, The Atlantic Daily news article has found out that 'more than fifty percent of American workers with employer-provided insurance pay for hospital services out of their pockets' and the statistics have been increasing since 2010 (Olen). This could be the case because most private policy insurance holders must face a deductible before their insurance is considered and this could mean that private insurance is not enough for all American citizens. Additionally, medical coverage could not be enough for everyone because the expensive system in America might have caused health insurers to pull out of an individual market because of uncertainties in the system. Pulling out might have left Americans with very few options and too expensive choices which makes it hard for the system to accommodate all citizens.

Media and Data on Uninsured

Reuters has always based its medical data on depicting how high the number of people without medical insurance keeps increasing. According to Reuters, '3.2 million people were uninsured in 2016 while in 2017 the number rose to double' (Abutaleb). I do not think that the media is exaggerating reports and data about non-insured but rather the media is trying to depict the healthcare situation of the country. The repeated attempts by the press about the insured is instead a wake-up call to the US administration to sign a domestic policy that would encourage consumers to take up private insurance options instead of confusing them. According to the report by Reuters, most citizens were uninsured because most private insurance providers pulled out due to market uncertainty leaving consumers with very few and expensive choices which could be the reason why a higher percentage forego coverage.

Benefits of Universal Care

'The very benefit of having a serious kind of health insurance for America did not have much reality until Second World War'- Gar Alperovitz. A primary benefit of having universal care is that it reduces health care costs for the economy. With universal healthcare, the government manages to control the price of drugs and medical services through regulation and negotiation, and these procedures have a direct impact on the economy. Secondly, a universal care option is beneficial because it does away with administration costs of having to deal with different health insurance providers. In this second benefit, doctors can only deal with a particular government agency. Therefore US doctors in the universal healthcare plan have no option than to deal with numerous private insurance companies. As a result, a reduction of administration costs standardizes billing procedures and all coverage rules. At the same time, organizations do not have to employ staff to handle wide ranges of health insurance company rules.

Thirdly, if hospitals and doctors sign up for universal healthcare coverage, they will be forced to provide a standard service at affordable prices. This means that universal healthcare is beneficial to the consumer because it lowers the costs of acquiring the service. In a highly competitive business environment like that of the US, health care providers are taking advantage of consumers because of their focus on the new technology. With the latest technology, doctors and hospitals overcharge patients to pay doctors more. 'Most of the hospitals with modern technology do not target consumers from middle and lower socio-economic classes'. Instead, they try to compete with other high quality hospitals by targeting the wealthy. With thus, they continue to charge more and get high...