Organizational Systems and Quality Leadership Task 3 Kimber Wagner-Hines Western Governors University Organizational Systems and Quality Leadership Task 3 A. Comparing Healthcare Systems: United States and Germany On a global scale, the United States is a relatively wealthy country of advanced industrialization. Unfortunately, the healthcare system is among the costliest, spending close to 18% of gross domestic product (GDP) towards funding healthcare (2011). No universal healthcare coverage is currently available. United States healthcare is currently funded through private, federal, state, and local sources. Coverage is provided privately and through the government and military. Nearly 85% of the U.S. population is covered to some extent, leaving a population of close to 48 million without any type of health insurance. Cost is the primary reason for lack of insurance and individuals foregoing medical care and use of prescription medications. In comparison, Germany spent slightly more than 11% of GDP (2011) towards healthcare funding. Universal health insurance is available to everybody with an option to purchase private insurance coverage (The U.S. Health Care System: An International Perspective, 2014). Approximately 90% of the population uses the national system in which premiums are income based. The system uses 240 private insurers for a non-profit, competitive system. Insurance costs are significantly less than the U.S. due to cost negotiations for medical facilities, appointments, and prescription medications (Sick Around the World, 2008). B. United States Healthcare System Healthcare in the U.S. has recently been affected by implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010. The intent is to create a healthca... ... middle of paper ... ... of Health Care Systems, 2014: Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. (2015). Retrieved June 04, 2016, from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2015/jan/international-profiles-2014 Secretary, H. O. (2014, November 18). Pre-Existing Conditions. Retrieved June 05, 2016, from http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/about-the-law/pre-existing-conditions/index.html Sick Around the World. (2008, April 15). Retrieved June 04, 2016, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=frol02n71cq101 The U.S. Health Care System: An International Perspective - DPEAFLCIO. (2014). Retrieved June 04, 2016, from http://dpeaflcio.org/programs-publications/issue-fact-sheets/the-u-s-health-care-system-an-international-perspective/
One of the most controversial topics in the United States in recent years has been the route which should be undertaken in overhauling the healthcare system for the millions of Americans who are currently uninsured. It is important to note that the goal of the Affordable Care Act is to make healthcare affordable; it provides low-cost, government-subsidized insurance options through the State Health Insurance Marketplace (Amadeo 1). Our current president, Barack Obama, made it one of his goals to bring healthcare to all Americans through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This plan, which has been termed “Obamacare”, has come under scrutiny from many Americans, but has also received a large amount of support in turn for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include a decrease in insurance discrimination on the basis of health or gender and affordable healthcare coverage for the millions of uninsured. The opposition to this act has cited increased costs and debt accumulation, a reduction in employer healthcare coverage options, as well as a penalization of those already using private healthcare insurance.
According to Harry A. Sultz and Kristina M. Young, the authors of our textbook Health Care USA, medical care in the United States is a $2.5 Trillion industry (xvii). This industry is so large that “the U.S. health care system is the world’s eighth
Due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law on March 23rd, 2010; health care in the US is presently in a state of much needed transition. As of 2008, 46 Million residents (15% of the population) were uninsured and 60% of residents had coverage from private insurers. 55% of those covered by private insurers received it through their employer and 5% paid for it directly. Federal programs covered 24% of Americans; 13% under Medicare and10% under Medicaid. (Squires, 2010)
Access to healthcare provides financial stability by assuring people that they will not be financially destroyed by injury or illness. Additionally, when people can afford regular medical care they tend to avoid chronic problems and financial stress. In a study provided by the American Medical Students Association, researchers reviewed the costs and benefits of universal health care. They came to the conclusion, after reviewing other articles and statistics from multiple sources, that, “The annual cost of diminished health and shorter life spans of Americans without insurance is $65-$130 billion.” (Chua 5) This comes from people not having adequate health care and then losing their jobs because they...
Out of all the industrialized countries in the world, the United States is the only one that doesn’t have a universal health care plan (Yamin 1157). The current health care system in the United States relies on employer-sponsored insurance programs or purchase of individual insurance plans. Employer-sponsored coverage has dropped from roughly 80 percent in 1982 to a little over 60 percent in 2006 (Kinney 809). The government does provide...
Until Obama-care, The United States was one of the only developed nations that did not provide some sort of health care for its citizens. To most other nations that do provide healthcare, it is because it is considered a human right that all people should be entitled to. That hasn’t been the case in America, however, where only those who could afford it could have healthcare plans. Those who stand to gain the most from universal healthcare are the already mentioned 45 million americans who currently don’t have any form of healthcare. For many of these individuals, there are many obstacles that prevent them from gaining healthcare. 80% of the 45 million are working class citizens, but either their employer doesn’t offer insurance, or they do but the individual can n...
Despite the established health care facilities in the United States, most citizens do not have access to proper medical care. We must appreciate from the very onset that a healthy and strong nation must have a proper health care system. Such a health system should be available and affordable to all. The cost of health services is high. In fact, the ...
Niles, N. J. (2011). Basics of the U.S. health care system. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Millions of Americans are without health insurance in the United States due to many factors such as unemployment, the cost of insurance and insurance companies denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions. The United States does not provide health care to its citizens the way the rest of the industrialized world does. Instead of providing coverage for all it institutes market-based options, in which some receive coverage from their place of employment, another options are purchasing individual plans and some can obtain coverage through public programs like Medicaid. The United States is the only westernized industrial nation without a universal health care system.
Health insurance, too many American citizens, is not an option. However, some citizens find it unnecessary. Working in the health care field, I witness the effects of uninsured patients on medical offices. Too often, I see a “self-pay” patient receive care from their doctor and then fail to pay for it. Altogether, their refusal to pay leaves the office at a loss of money and calls for patients to pay extra in covering for the cost of the care the uninsured patient received. One office visit does not seem like too big of an expense, but multiple patients failing to pay for the care they receive adds up. Imagine the hospital bills that patients fail to pay; health services in a hospital are double, sometimes triple, in price at a hospital. It is unfair that paying patients are responsible for covering these unpaid services. Luckily, the Affordable Care Act was passed on March 23, 2010, otherwise known as Obamacare. Obamacare is necessary in America because it calls for all citizens to be health insured, no worrying about pre-existing conditions, and free benefits for men and women’s health.
Healthcare is the maintenance or restoration of health by treatment from trained and licensed professionals (Webster). The American people faced many issues with the way the healthcare system is split up. There are four basic healthcare models the United States usescurrently. First, PBS describes that the Beveridge model, covered/ran by the government, through tax payments. This is the only model used in Great Britain but in America it only covers veterans and soldiers, in Great Britain everyone in the country has coverage by it . Another system model the US takes up is the Bismarck model,it helps people to buy their own health insurance through their employer (Healthcare Economist). Three main countries that use this model are Japan, Switzerland, and Germany whose ex-leader, Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck, created the Bismarck method of health care. Which not only covers 90% of their country but allowsthe rich 10% opt out (Reid&Palfreman). An Americans third model option takes of the ideas of both Beveridge and Bismarck and its name is the National Health Insurance (NHI), which Taiwan operates with. The NHI allows private providers to become a choice even though citizens. These four systems have been used for decades and President Obama has put a bill together to propose a change in America'shealthcare. The Affordable Care Act [Obamacare], will give coverage through employers, help people find their own insurance, or government coverage through Medicare for the elderly, and Medicaid for a 1/3 of others (KFF). Medicaid is offered for those with low income, but only states with governors and legislators who approve for this one actually benefit the KFF (Kaiser family foundation) explained. Those who don't have or want health insuranc...
The U.S. healthcare system is very complex in structure hence it can be appraised with diverse perspectives. From one viewpoint it is described as the most unparalleled health care system in the world, what with the cutting-edge medical technology, the high quality human resources, and the constantly-modernized facilities that are symbolic of the system. This is in addition to the proliferation of innovations aimed at increasing life expectancy and enhancing the quality of life as well as diagnostic and treatment options. At the other extreme are the fair criticisms of the system as being fragmented, inefficient and costly. What are the problems with the U.S. healthcare system? These are the questions this opinion paper tries to propound.
Health insurance facilitates entry into the health care system. Uninsured people are less likely to receive medical care and more likely to have poor health. Many Americans are foregoing medical care because they cannot afford it, or are struggling to pay their medical bills. “Adults in the US are more likely to go without health care due to cost” (Schoen, Osborn, Squires, Doty, & Pierson, 2010) Many of the currently uninsured or underinsured are forced accept inferior plans with large out-of-pocket costs, or are not be able to afford coverage offered by private health insurers. This lack of adequate coverage makes it difficult for people to get the health care they need and can have a particularly serious impact on a person's health and stability.
In many other countries the health care is government controlled and all citizens are provided government assisted health care. Most systems over in Europe are indeed government controlled and are taxed my wages. The United States government does not pay for most of its citizens healthcare in contrast. If you are fournate enough to afford insurance it's usually through your employer. In comparssion almost all government operated insurances provide better care for babies and pregant mothers than the United States system of health care. The United States system are more flexible than government aided systems though.
Barton, P.L. (2010). Understanding the U.S. health services system. (4th ed). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.