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effectiveness of us healthcare system delivery
3 strengths and 3 weaknesses of us healthcare system
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The United States is an exceedingly unhealthy nation. Its citizens are sufficiently educated to know that their eating habits could lower their life expectancy and decrease their overall quality of life. They may know this; however, the amount of food and the foods themselves that they choose to consume do not show proof of this knowledge. It seems as if many Americans are drowning themselves in fat as an escape from the burdens and stress that life brings. Taxing fatty foods in the current American culture of obesity can only offer hope to an already failing medical system and to young people who, because of obesity-related health concerns, have a shorter life expectancy than their own parents.
This country’s medical system is slowly deteriorating. Earlier this year, the United States was graded on its healthcare system. The results from the National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance, which is based on indicators of matters such as healthcare quality, access, and efficiency, show that the healthcare system was given a sixty-four out of one hundred in its scoring. Compared to previous years, the report found that there was either a failure to improve or a decline in many areas. In addition, the U.S. was ranked at the bottom of a sixteen-country list in total deaths that potentially could have been prevented by timely and effective medical care (Philanthropy News Digest).
In 1970, the average life expectancy in the United States was 70.8 years. In 2008, that number increased to 78.0 years (United States). Although average life expectancy has risen due to advances in medicine and technology, having an unhealthy lifestyle can only decrease the number of years an individual has to live. With the prevailing health of many ...
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...s butter, burgers.” Health Pop. CBS Interactive Inc., 3 October 2011. Web. 7 November 2011.
Pettinger, Tejvan. “Fat Tax: Why we should tax unhealthy foods.” Economics Help. Economics Help, 14 July 2007. Web. 15 November 2011.
Philanthropy News Digest. “U.S. Healthcare System Failing to Keep Up With Other Countries, Report Finds.” News. Foundation Center, 19 October 2011. Web. 17 November 2011.
The Economist. “Waist banned.” Economics Focus. The Economist Newspaper Limited, 30 July 2009. Web. 16 November 2011.
United States. Census Bureau. Table 104. Expectation of Life at Birth, 1970 to 2008, and Projections, 2010 to 2020. U.S. Census Bureau. Web. 16 November 2011.
Williams, Joanne. “Health-Related Quality of Life of Overweight and Obese Children.” JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association. American Medical Association, 2011. Web. 17 November 2011.
K. Stremikis, C. Schoen, and A.-K. Fryer. A Call for Change: The 2011 Commonwealth Fund Survey of Public Views of the U.S. Health System, The Commonwealth Fund, April 2011. Retrieved April 26th, 2011 from web site: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publications/Issue-Briefs/2011/Apr/Call-for-Change.aspx
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/
Davidson, Stephen M. Still Broken: Understanding the U.S. Health Care System. Stanford, CA: Stanford Business, 2010. Print.
...d,” (Bittman). Bittman uses these statistics to show how hyperprocessed foods and sugary beverages have impacts America. Since the percentage of obese individuals continuously rises, Bittman believes that the government should step in and protect the health of individuals by establishing a new tax on junk food. People sense the urgency within Bittman’s article, since he believes it is time for the government to step in. Throughout history people have always wanted to limit the control of the government and only sought their help in dire situations; therefore, if the government is becoming involved in the weight gain problem, it must be a big problem.
Zablit, Jocelyne. “US Health System Ranks Last Compared to Other Countries.” Commondreams.org. 15 May 2007. 13 October 2009. < http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/15/1198>.
Everyday Americans die from the diseases they carry from obesity. Many Americans over eat because their social problems or because they are hereditary. Many plans have been discussed but finding the solution is the problem. Junk foods and unhealthy beverages have corrupted children’s minds all over the nation and putting a stop on it could lead to other benefits. Unhealthy foods and drinks should be taxed and healthy foods should be advertised more to help prevent American obesity.
Healthcare professionals want only to provide the best care and comfort for their patients. In today’s world, advances in healthcare and medicine have made their task of doing so much easier, allowing previously lethal diseases to be diagnosed and treated with proficiency and speed. A majority of people in the United States have health insurance and enjoy the luxury of convenient, easy to access health care services, with annual checkups, preventative care, and their own personal doctor ready to diagnose and provide treatment for even the most trivial of symptoms. Many of these people could not imagine living a day without the assurance that, when needed, medical care would not be available to themselves and their loved ones. However, millions of American citizens currently live under these unimaginable conditions, going day to day without the security of frequent checkups, prescription medicine, or preventative medicines that could prevent future complications in their health. Now with the rising unemployment rates due to the current global recession, even more Americans are becoming uninsured, and the flaws in the United States’ current healthcare system are being exposed. In order to amend these flaws, some are looking to make small changes to fix the current healthcare system, while others look to make sweeping changes and remodel the system completely, favoring a more socialized, universal type of healthcare system. Although it is certain that change is needed, universal healthcare is not the miracle cure that will solve the systems current ailments. Universal healthcare should not be allowed to take form in America as it is a menace to the capitalist principle of a free market, threatens to put a stranglehold on for-...
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.
For years, the United States government has been trying to find a way to lower the obesity in the country. However, the approach it is using, i.e. taxing unhealthy food, is not the most effective one. People are going to purchase whatever products they wish, whether the price is increased a few cents or not. Junk food options are already set at a more reasonable price than healthy foods, enticing people to buy these less expensive goods. Even though putting a tax on other products, such as tobacco, has served the intended purpose, food is a necessity humans must have for survival. Society is used to consuming foods they want, and will continue to do so. Putting a tax on unhealthy food will not necessarily lower the obesity rate because there are other factors that contribute to this problem. Moreover, taxing measures are usually intended for the collective benefit of society rather than the individual. They are usually perceived as another way the government uses to take money out of the citizens’ pockets. Ultimately, thinking that higher taxes on unhealthy foods will help curb down the obesity rate in the country would be similar to say that cost is the sole contributing factor to this public health problem. Imposing taxes will not help lower the consumption level because these foods will still have lower prices than healthier choices. Taxes do not impact the nutritional value of foods, and their only predictable effect is to help in generating additional revenue for the government.
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.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity now ranks as the 10th most important health problem in the world (“Obesity Seen as a Global Problem”). Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Centers for Disease Control and Protection estimates that obesity contributed to the deaths of 112,000 Americans in 2000 (“Obesity in the U.S. Fast”). It is estimated that annual medical care cost of obesity are as high as $147 billion (“Obesity in the U.S. Fast”). Government-provided food stamps are often expended on junk or fast food, because it tends to be less expensive than fresh or cook food. Governments fund producers of meat and dairy products to keep prices low. For now, governments are taking a smarter and more productive approach through regulation, and by working with manufacturers.
Niles, N. J. (2011). Basics of the U.S. health care system. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
In sum, America needs to reevaluate the status quo surrounding medical care. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the current model only benefits a select few and causes insufferable costs for the rest of the world. If there is no reform for these issues, money will continue to be siphoned directly into the pockets of large, for-profit companies that benefit from the strife of
To say that the U.S. health care system is inadequately run, is an understatement. Today’s society faces many shortcomings when utilizing health care in the United States and some of these inadequacies include diminishing
In America over 300,000 people are obese and that number continues to grow because the about of junk food that is being consumed. This cost the economy one hundred billion dollars. That more damage done than smoking or drinking. (Crowley, Michael 5) There are other health problems, such as heart diseases, chronic diseases, and type-two diabetes that occur because of junk food. Increasing the price of junk food, by adding tax, researchers hope that this will prod people to reject unhealthy foods. Taxes will also encourage a healthier lifestyle, even in low-income families (Franck, Caroline 2).