Cost Of Health Care Essay

With the ongoing changes to our health care system prompted by the Affordable Care Act, the United States of America faces many challenges in regards to the delivery of health care in our country. One of the most foundational issues affecting our country in this day and age is the cost of health care leading to a lack of access to our citizens.

A recent report updated in 2014 by the Commonwealth Fund shows that among 11 countries surveyed, the United States has the highest cost associated with healthcare, measured by total health related expenditures as a percent of the GDP; yet our healthcare system ranks last in most dimensions of performance, which include access, quality, efficiency, and equity. This presents the notion that a more expensive health care system does not correlate with a one of higher quality.

It was shown that a greater percentage of people in the United States go without needed care due to associated costs than in any other surveyed nation. Similarly, Americans were the most likely to say they had issues with health care access as a result of the cost. Over one third of those surveyed stated they did not get recommended care, fill a prescription, or pursue medical treatment when they had a health problems due to costs.

It seems many physicians in the U.S.

also acknowledge the diffi¬culty patients have paying for care, underscoring affordability as a foundational issue affecting the health system. Not only do patients face finan¬cial burdens associated with the price of healthcare, they also lack immediate access to primary care when medical attention is needed. In a twist of irony, Americans seem to have more rapid access to specialized health care services. Likewise, a high percentage of American adults with health problems are more likely to visit the emer¬gency department conditions that could have been treated by a primary physician, had they had access to

one.

The primary goal of a nations health care system should be to ensure its citizens live long, healthy lives. The U.S. spends more on health care than any other country and has the highest proportion of specialist physicians, but yet, the performance of American health care is severely lacking.

How can a nation that fails to meet the needs of those who utilize the health care system to stay healthy, get better, or manage chronic illnesses meet needs for its average citizens? The United States should continue to devote greater attention to refining the health system to one that works well for all Americans, even citizens who are vulnerable due to low income and poor health.

The U.S. should continue to consider the state of its health care system during this critical time of reform. Making healthcare more affordable to its citizens will dramatically improve the ability for the sick to access primary healthcare. Associatively, providing all citizens with access to medical attention will reduce the cost of healthcare per capita in the long run by implementing early preventative measures and treatments to health diseases such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension that later manifest into chronic conditions affecting the patients long term.

Moreover, in order to address the delivery of healthcare in our country, resources should be directed towards the affordability of healthcare in the U.S. along with the shortage of primary care physicians. Tackling these issues from a bottom up approach will prove to be a much more efficient and effective strategy, compared to the top down approach where resources are invested into management of chronic conditions, leading to more expensive testing, studies, and long term treatments instead of focusing efforts on prevention.