Essay On Health Care In The United States

Despite few things being more important to people than their or a loved one's health, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently ranked the United States of America 24th in analysis of healthy longevity, 18th in infant mortality and 43rd in average life expectancy amongst nations of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - the United States of America is not the greatest country in the world (“GHO”). Health care policy in the United States differs from most other democracies in one important way: the role the government plays. Opposite to many other democracies around the world, United States health care is privately ran thus mirroring its’ politics: vast, complex and controversial. A paradox exists within America’s current health care system; we spend a far larger share of our income on health than any other industrialized country; yet, we are far from having the healthiest population. The United States must follow the example set by our worldly counterparts and incorporate health care into our government’s agenda rather than allowing it to be managed by private incorporations whose only goal is profit.
America is prized for its capitalistic free market economy providing incentives to be rich and encouraging innovation, however; maximizing one’s health benefits at someone else’s expense is not advantageous to a health care system. Capitalism produces inequality, private ownership and exploitation

for profit - encouraging the poor to stay poor and the rich to stay rich. The fundamental goal of capitalism is to seek the path that yields the highest benefits. Capitalism manifests the mindset that someone who can not afford health care does not deserve it due to the fact that they “did not work hard enough”. The self-interested behavior of people in charge of different aspects of America’s health care system trickles down, affecting the well being of the patients. Capitalism led to the creation of the conflict theory, outlining the inequality between the proletariat (poor) and the bourgeoisie (rich). The disparity between these different groups affects who has access to medical care; including who has access to hospitals and the ability to be covered by insurance. Karl Marx, a German philosopher and political activist, developed a criticism for capitalism, known as marxism. Marxism is a political and economic philosophy that advocates for equality before the law including equal education, health care and gender roles. In addition, marxism aims to abolish private businesses and private property bridging the gap stated within the conflict theory. Moreover, marxism forms the foundation of the rational choice-exchange theory, believing that people behave rationally according to their best interests. The rational choice-exchange theory impels individuals to ponder the purpose of the health care system. Does it really exist to keep people healthy? Is it a capitalistic competition to earn the most money?
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It can be agreed that nations both rich and poor consider health care a basic right.

In fact, Article 32 of the Constitution of the Italian Republic assures:
The Republic safeguards health as a fundamental right of the individual and as a collective interest, and guarantees free medical care to the indigent. No one may be obliged to undergo any health treatment except under the provisions of the law. The law may not under any circumstances violate the limits imposed by respect for the human person. (The Constitution of Italian

Republic)
In contrary, the United States health care system is driven by a mixed and imperfect market designed to benefit private companies more than the sick people it is supposed to be helping. Wealthy individuals within America can pay to be covered by the best medical care, whereas, the middle class have limited access to medical care because either they earn just enough to not qualify for a government health care plan, such as medicare, but can not afford the deductibles nor premiums of private insurance or their occupations do not provide them with an insurance plan. Middle class citizens of the United States are left to ask themselves whether going to the hospital will benefit them more in the long run or will the outrageous hospital bills outweigh said benefits. Leading individuals to skip hospital visits and be sicker longer or simply never get better. Many people have no choice but to skip hospital visits for minor illnesses due to the cost, allowing something that can be easily treated to become a much larger problem. The United States of America now spends $2.3 trillion a year on health care, accounting for one-seventh of the gross domestic product (GDP). Canada, France and Germany, on the other hand, provide universal health coverage but only spend 8-11% of their GDP’s. In America, costs are not only high but they are increasing faster than any other good/service we purchase. For the price we pay many would expect American health care to be world class, but do we get our money’s worth? The sad truth is no. Despite major advances in medical technology, the average American still does not live as long as the average Canadian and the chances that your baby will live beyond their first year is 50% lower in the United States than if your baby was born in Japan (“The World Factbook”). It is a common belief in America that more care is better care, yet there is little to no evidence that high costs and more care translate into healthier patients, and as president Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors agrees, “buying more health care is not necessarily equivalent to buying more health” (“Policymaking for Health Care”). The economics of America’s current capitalistic health care provide no incentive to keep costs under control. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan in other countries costs approximately $200-400 each, in America it costs around $1,500 and you would be able to stay in a dutch hospital for 7 nights for what it costs to stay in an American hospital for one, because the United States does not have a unified system that can negotiate between doctors, pharmaceutical companies and other providers. Due to the absence of government regulated price ceilings, health care providers are able to charge as much as they can get away with, which is a lot considering their is no price for living.
“We are [...] the only advanced democracy on Earth,” 26th president of the United States of America, Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed, “that allows such hardship for millions of its people” (“Policymaking for Health Care”). Despite Roosevelt’s attempts, it has been nearly a century since he had called for health care reform. Reforming the American health care system is difficult due to the existence of the iron triangle consisting of congress, bureaucracy, and lobbyists. The iron triangle summarizes the relations between these branches of government and their effects on one another: congress wants to be re-elected, the bureaucracy wants to protect funding and jobs whilst lobbyists want to advance the interests of their constituents. Members of the iron triangle work to maintain the status quo by working together to achieve each of the members desires, which most times is not in the best interest of the people. The United States of America must adopt a single-payer health care system, a system financed by taxes that covers the costs of health care for every man, woman and child regardless of income. Today, the United States owes over $70 trillion for its 3 major entitlements: social security, medicare and medicaid. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for All” plan proposed in the 2016 election was estimated to cost over $6 trillion less than the current health care system over the following decade (Sanders). The United States needs to follow the example set by other developed nations and make health care a government ran program. Although many wish to limit the presence of government in American lives, as we move forward, the citizens of the United States must realize that the government must get involved to aid the current health care “market” in achieving an effective, efficient and fair outcome - which includes developing a centralized negotiation system. The United States of America must embrace a system that works not just for the upper class, but for everyone. Until that is achieved, the price of health care will continue to rise faster than any other nation in the world.
The United States is falling behind in the global race of health care and must begin making strides in the right direction towards health care reform; building upon our current foundation and strengths. A paradox exists within America’s current health care system. The United States spends more on health care per person, and as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), than any other advanced nation in the world but, all of that money has not made Americans healthier than the rest of the world. We have spent more yet end up with less with uneven coverage equating to uneven care. The United States must get on-board with the rest of the global community and establish a single-payer health care system as well as a unified negotiation system between the many fields of medicine in order to provide available, affordable health care coverage to not just some, but all of its’ citizens. The United States must establish health care as a basic right providing it as a freedom to all citizens. The United States of America is not the greatest country in the world - but it can be.