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The American health care system will collapse in the next few years. America is great for
many different benefits from modern day technology, education, and health care; however, what
good is modern day health care if all American citizens don’t have access to it. Many wealthy
citizens within the United States can easily obtain health care because they have the funds as
well as the older folks with disabilities and people with lower household income that qualify for
Medicaid/Medicare. However, for many middle-class Americans that don’t fit in any of the
categories mentioned previously, are stuck in this limbo state where you’re not low enough
income to qualify for Medicaid/Medicare but can’t realistically afford health insurance on your
own. Even when an individual is lucky enough to gain access to health care, the care is subpar
for most. There are numerous reports of malpractice, extremely long wait times, and insanely
large medical bills and for that reason for some people, health care is not even considered an
option. America is the land of freedom, but what good is freedom if you don’t have the health
care to live long enough to enjoy it?
The American government interests lies within profit rather than public health. You
would think that the American government would want its citizens to flourish in health because
citizens are the foundation for any nation, but it seems that the American government priorities
lie within profiting off the American people instead. “The U.S. system is designed to maximize
sales and profits, not cost-effective healthcare” (Menzel and Light 41). The way that the health
care system is designed in America makes it difficult for many to afford health care even with
health insurance. PhD in economics and Professor Dell Champlin and her colleague agrees, “The
greatest obstacle, as we have pointed out above, is the national failure in the United States to
recognize that health care is a shared responsibility. A second problem, and one not to be
underestimated, is a political one. The question may not be which reform proposal is the best, but
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rather which proposal, if any, can actually become law in the current political climate”
(Champlin and Knoedler 931). With even the American government pushing the responsibility
of public health off their plate, it makes it virtually impossible for some to actually receive the
care that they need.
The American government does not promote universal healthcare. You’ll see every now
and then political figures talk about universal health care during their campaigns, but for many
Americans, the end of that tunnel is nowhere to be seen. In fact, some political figures detest the
idea of the American government’s involvement in health care, “In his 2007 State of Union
Address, President Bush stated his goal explicitly by offering a proposal designed to “help out
Nation move away from reliance on government-run health care” (Champlin and Knoedler 922).
Attorney and J.D. holder from UC Berkeley School of Law, Puneet Sandhu also agrees,
“Americans believe that access to health care should not be limited to those who can afford it,
yet the federal government has not managed to ensure universal access to health care” (Sandhu
1154). It is without a doubt that it is widely believed that healthcare should be universal at least
here in America, however it seems that’s not the case for our nation’s leaders.
The American government allows the medical industry to inflate the cost of healthcare.
Sure, America is the land of the free and has many benefits being an American citizen; however,
access to affordable health care is not one of them. The medical industries and insurance
companies monopolize profits off of American citizens that can afford it while leaving the
citizens who can’t afford it without access and nobody including the US government is doing
anything about it. “No sector of the healthcare economy wants to accept blame for skyrocketing
costs, and so far, none has had to. With everyone adding to the cost of healthcare, a myriad of
scapegoats exist. Politicians point fingers at pharmaceutical manufacturers, who in turn blame
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health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers” (Branning). By governments taking over and
leading the health care industry, many nations including Canada and South Korea have had great
success in controlling the price for health care by creating their universal health care programs,
“The year 1989 marks the year that the Republic of Korea reached universal healthcare by
expanding coverage to the self-employed in urban areas. Korea achieved universal health
coverage in just 12 years from the first national health insurance program. In 2000, the National
Health Insurance program underwent major changes resulting in the integration of all health
insurance societies into a single insurer” (South Korea | Summary). Clearly it works in nations as
small as South Korea as well as nations as large as Canada.
Health insurance in America is a broken system and lacks transparency. Health insurance
has been a broken system for as long as its existence here in America, and its effects on the cost
of health care have been brutal. “With properly structured universal health insurance, the charges
for a CAT scan, a prescription, a day in the hospital, or a general check-up would drop closer to
Western European levels” (Menzel and Light 41). The way the cost for health care has gone up
in recent decades has made it impossible for people to feel comfortable worrying if the insurance
will cover their health care because transparency is such a big issue within the industry. PhD
from Columbia University and professor in economics, David Colander also agrees, “Currently,
the U.S. is on a path to a single-payer system, not because that makes the most sense, but
because the current U.S. health care system is structured in a way to essentially make it
impossible for multi-payer system in health care to work. The reason is that a reasonable multipayer system requires (1) consumer cost transparency of both medical care and medical
insurance, and (2) relatively equal bargaining power for all consumers. Our current system has
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neither” (Colander 175). Many professionals can attest to our broken system of health insurance,
yet there is so little being done to help the American people.
The cost of administration is too high compared to other nations. The way the health care
system works here in the United States entails high administration costs compared to other
nations. Physician Alan Garber and his colleague claim that administration costs in America can
be double to triple administration costs of other nations according to their research from other
studies, “According to OECD data, expenditures for administration by private insurers and
central and local authorities were $465 per capita in the United States, compared to $265 in
France, $131 in Canada, and $52 in Japan” (Garber and Skinner 36). Many others agree that one
of the issues within the American health care system are administrative costs. Professor of
economics, Dell Chaplin and her colleague has also shed some light on the rising costs of
administration, “This Conclusion is echoed by Physicians for a National Health Program, who
pointed to the high costs of administration in American health Care” (Champlin and Knoedler
922). Although it is only one of the many problems with the American health care system, this
could be a great start for a health care reform.
Quality of healthcare has gone down in America leading to negative health outcomes.
Aside from many Americans struggling to gain access health care in America, Americans are
also finding it hard to find quality health care even when they are fortunate enough to qualify for
it. Harvey Fineberg who is a physician and the president of the Institute of Medicine said, “The
United States has a triple problem: we are spending a lot of money, our quality is substandard,
and we have 46.5 million people without health insurance”. Even low funded health care
facilities such as the Veterans Affairs have been able to make changes to produce better results,
“It has been a decade since the Institute of Medicine observed that "trying harder will not work
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(to improve quality). Changing systems of care will. The VA has demonstrated both that it is
possible to implement large-scale system changes and that these changes can dramatically
improve quality” (MacLean 882). Although we have some of the best medical advancements and
technologies in the world, what good are they if people are getting sicker due to the quality of
care they are receiving.
The cost of health care will soon exceed the point of affordability for many citizens. For a
large number of American citizens, it has already gone past that point for quite some time now
and for others who used to be able to afford it, no longer can. Even Americans with “good”
health insurance tend to struggle paying for health care. According to a group of researchers at
the NYU School of Global Public Health, the problem is getting worse as time goes on, “For
instance, approximately 6% of women found medical care unaffordable in 2020 compared to 3%
in 2000, and roughly 3% of men said medical care was unaffordable in 2020 compared to 2% in
2000” (Health Care is Increasingly Unaffordable). Many Americans are taking risks by opting
out of health care due to the inflated costs for health care while some are traveling as far as
Canada for their health care. However, for those who are not fortunate enough to be able to
travel to Canada, they have been struggling, “We realized that he had been taking less insulin
and less often than he should, trying to make it stretch until he got his next paycheck.” He was
found dead three days before payday” (Stanley). As you can see, due to the inflated cost of
health care, some Americans are going as far as rationing life-depending medications in hopes of
living another day.
Healthcare providers are primarily focusing on profit rather than healthcare. Greed gets
the best of some of us, but when it comes to patients in need of care, their health should come
first. For some individuals, that’s not the case, “The CEO of the Mayo Clinic—which generated
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an operating surplus of $707 million last year, while investing $714 million in new capital
projects—instructed employees to “prioritize” patients with private insurance over those with
Medicaid, and even Medicare” (Wolfe et al. 981). Due to the focus on profits rather than
healthcare, this is one of the many contributing factors for sicker people that even those with
health care coverage are struggling to get the care they need as well. Medical Doctor and writer,
Arthur Gale agrees, “The study by Jha clearly demonstrates that it is prices charged by hospitals,
insurance companies, drug and device companies that explain why health care costs in the U.S.
are so much higher than in OECD countries” (Arthur 7). With the government sitting on the
sidelines, it gives all the power to these medical and insurance companies to have free rein in
pricing on health care for sick American citizens and becoming an exclusive benefit that only the
rich can afford.
America has the best health care system which is the reason so many nations seek aid
from us. Although health care may be unaffordable for some in America, the medical
advancements that were founded in America are some of the bests in the world. Foreigners from
all over the world visit the United States for health care, “Despite rising costs, the U.S. health
system continues to attract foreigners because of its high-quality services and its closeness to
large patient markets”. Even Canadian citizens where access to universal health care is available,
travel to America to received health care, “Around 100,000 Canadians, whose nationalized
health system is rated above the United States, are likely to cross the border each year for
medical care. These medical tourists recognize that, on the whole, health care in the US is the
best in the world” (Dajani). Even when offered reduced health care costs, some Canadians would
prefer to travel to America due to medical innovation founded in America.
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America has the best health care system because the technology we have today is
extremely advanced leading towards longer life expectancies. There are many medical
advancements that were founded in America giving foreigners a reason to visit America for
health care. According to Medical Doctor, Khaled Dajani, “The advanced medical milieu that
Americans enjoy has led to the world’s best cancer survival rates, a life expectancy for those
over 80 that is actually greater than anywhere else, and lower mortality rates for heart attacks and
strokes than in comparable countries” (Dajani). Many other professionals like Dr. Goran Ridic
who is Professor of International Business Management at HDWM University in Mannheim also
agrees, “A relatively high life expectancy after age 80 is another reflection of the advanced state
of health care technology in the United States” (Ridic). The reason for all of this is due to all of
the medical advancements and research that are founded right here in America.
American is great in many aspects; however, quality, and affordable health care is not
one of them. At this rate, health care for many is still unattainable and always will be for many
Americans. Because of how poor the health care system here in America is, many are looking
elsewhere for more affordable health care overseas. For those who still can’t afford it overseas,
many are risking their lives and trying their luck by opting out of health care entirely. Even when
they receive care, it has been known to be subpar at most for those without the best insurance.
For some nations, health care is a basic human right as a citizen, here in Americans for those
who can’t afford health care, it is the battle against death they were bestowed upon at birth as an
American born citizen. That is the sad truth of being an American.