What do you find inefficient/confusing about the United States Healthcare system? How have you noticed this in your role as a nurse or a patient/consumer?
United States healthcare has failed to provide clear information regarding the different types of health insurance; this has created constant confusion among health service users. Low health literacy has led consumers to avoid medical care because they are unsure of what is covered by health insurance (Levitt, 2015). As a nurse, it is evident that many patients who visit the health facility do not know the fundamental benefit that health insurance plans must cover under the Affordable Care Act. Also, people are confused about basic health insurance facts. Many of those with health insurance cannot define the three common healthcare expenses: copays, premiums, and deductibles (Levitt, 2015). Only a few people know that there is an aid in purchasing Obamacare plan, and many wrongfully believe that the tax penalty is charged for foregoing health insurance.
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Why do you personally feel that our healthcare system is so expensive ?
The high cost of healthcare has depressed people spending power over the past few decades. Healthcare is becoming expensive because of high administrative costs and healthcare systems' complexity regarding separate rules, funding, different enrollment dates, and additional costs for insurances. Secondly, the costs of drugs are continually rising in the country (Mills, 2016). Despite the high budgetary allocations for healthcare equipment, consumers also separately pay for diagnostic tools, tests, and procedures during the treatment process. Private entities run the healthcare sector, and hospitals are profit centers like any other business; thus, inpatient and outpatient care costs are higher than physician prices ( Peter G. Peterson Foundation, 2020) . Lastly, the lack of government regulations have has hosted a constant rise in health care premiums and monthly costs paid to the insurance company.
Any positive or negative perspectives on the U.S healthcare systems ?
Despite the controversies regarding pricing, U.S healthcare is undoubtedly the most advanced in the world in terms of technology ( Peter G. Peterson Foundation. (2020) . Healthcare systems are easily accessible, and the diagnosis and treatment process is fast. The system is patient-centered; patients are empowered to ask questions and give suggestions. Moreover, the system gives room for research and innovation; this has helped create a comfortable environment and the provision of health statistics. On the other hand, there is still an acute shortage of nursing and physician experts ( Peter G. Peterson Foundation. (2020) . Racial and gender bias is also prominent, and worse still, the high costs do not translate to high efficiency than other OECD countries where healthcare costs are comparatively lower..
References
Levitt, L. (2015). Why health insurance literacy . Jama, 313(6), 555-556. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2014.17419
Mills, M. D. (2016). Why is healthcare so expensive in the United States?. Journal of applied clinical medical physics, 17(3), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1120/jacmp.v17i3.6426
Peter G. Peterson Foundation. (2020). How does the U.S. healthcare system compare to other countries? https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2020/07/how-does-the-us-healthcare-system-compare-to-other-countries
