America’s Broken Health Care System
By: Brooke McBee
By: Brooke McBee
While people often praise America for its numerous triumphs and admirable attributes, there are still a variety of issues currently evident in the nation waiting to be resolved. From mass shootings to crippling student debt, America is far from perfect, yet one of its most prominent and urgent problems is undoubtedly health care.
Despite spending far more money on health care than any other country in the world, America’s health care system is severely flawed. In fact, Commonwealth Fund ranks America last in a 2017 health care systems performance study, which included ten other high-income countries. Many people attribute a lack of cost transparency and insurance coverage as one of the main factors to America’s fractured system. In the study Commonwealth Fund conducted, more Americans claimed “insurance denied payment for medical care or did not pay as much as expected” than in any of the other ten countries questioned, but there are an overwhelming amount of issues outside of these as well.
The conditions people in America live under often promote unhealthy habits and/ or make them more vulnerable to illnesses. In addition to America’s obsession with fast food and large serving sizes, which can cause high levels of obesity, Americans frequently face social, economic, and environmental problems that can lead to issues in their health. Those who lack high-quality education, housing, and safe air and water are more at risk for poor health. If America were to take a portion of the money it directly spends on health care and, instead, use it for improving these conditions, perhaps they would be able to prevent disease before it occurs. Moreover, when people without health benefits get sick or injured, many avoid visiting the doctor and seeking needed treatment because of the absurd costs they know they will have to pay. “Even an ambulance ride to the hospital is extremely expensive. I think if the costs associated with [health] care were lower, people’s health would significantly improve,” Maggie Kempen, a junior, expresses.
The effects of America’s fractured health care system are staggering. In the aforementioned study of eleven countries health care systems, America was revealed to have the highest infant mortality, the highest mortality amenable to health care, and the lowest life expectancy at age 60. According to a different Commonwealth Fund study, Americans (compared to patients in Canada, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom) “were the least likely to report relative satisfaction with their health care.” The flaws in America’s health care system are apparent, as many suffer the fatal repercussions of lacking access to effective medical treatment. This urgent problem should not continue to be overlooked, for everyone in America are victims of this extensive issue. One cannot trust doctors to repair their health if the system they work for is broken itself.
Despite spending far more money on health care than any other country in the world, America’s health care system is severely flawed. In fact, Commonwealth Fund ranks America last in a 2017 health care systems performance study, which included ten other high-income countries. Many people attribute a lack of cost transparency and insurance coverage as one of the main factors to America’s fractured system. In the study Commonwealth Fund conducted, more Americans claimed “insurance denied payment for medical care or did not pay as much as expected” than in any of the other ten countries questioned, but there are an overwhelming amount of issues outside of these as well.
The conditions people in America live under often promote unhealthy habits and/ or make them more vulnerable to illnesses. In addition to America’s obsession with fast food and large serving sizes, which can cause high levels of obesity, Americans frequently face social, economic, and environmental problems that can lead to issues in their health. Those who lack high-quality education, housing, and safe air and water are more at risk for poor health. If America were to take a portion of the money it directly spends on health care and, instead, use it for improving these conditions, perhaps they would be able to prevent disease before it occurs. Moreover, when people without health benefits get sick or injured, many avoid visiting the doctor and seeking needed treatment because of the absurd costs they know they will have to pay. “Even an ambulance ride to the hospital is extremely expensive. I think if the costs associated with [health] care were lower, people’s health would significantly improve,” Maggie Kempen, a junior, expresses.
The effects of America’s fractured health care system are staggering. In the aforementioned study of eleven countries health care systems, America was revealed to have the highest infant mortality, the highest mortality amenable to health care, and the lowest life expectancy at age 60. According to a different Commonwealth Fund study, Americans (compared to patients in Canada, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom) “were the least likely to report relative satisfaction with their health care.” The flaws in America’s health care system are apparent, as many suffer the fatal repercussions of lacking access to effective medical treatment. This urgent problem should not continue to be overlooked, for everyone in America are victims of this extensive issue. One cannot trust doctors to repair their health if the system they work for is broken itself.
