Thursday, 9 October 2014

The Maladies Afflicting American Health Care: An Analysis

Most of the people living in the United States understand that their quality of life is relatively high when compared to many parts of the world. After all, the economy still provides a great deal of resources for many of the people who live in the country.


However, the American health care system has a great deal of problems, and many people who live inside the country see these flaws. In reality, the American health care system isn’t on par with the rest of the world in terms of basic quality of living and services provided in most cases.

Still, understanding what’s wrong with the American health care system isn’t always that easy, since there are a lot of complex factors at work. Use this analysis if you want to learn more about what’s plaguing the American health care system and what could be done to fix it.

Americans Pay Too Much for Health Care
Health care costs around the world can be somewhat high, especially when you figure out how much people in countries like England and Denmark are paying in taxes for health care. Still, the average American pays considerably more, in terms of health care costs, because of the insanely high cost of almost every single procedure that’s done in the US.

In fact, people in the United States spend nearly three-trillion dollars each year on health care, which is about one-sixth of the total economy. Broken down, that’s nearly $9,000 per person, per year.

That’s considerably more than any other country in the world.

Americans Go to the Doctor Less
Americans spend more money on health care than people in any other country in the world. So it would seem to stand to reason that they also go to the doctor regularly, right? The sad truth is that most Americans see doctors less than people in other developed countries around the world.

Doctor-PrescriptionMost Americans average about four doctor visits per year, which is considerably lower than in countries like Australia, Canada and Germany, where the number is closer to 7 and 6 visits, respectively.

While four visits per year might sound like a lot, you have to remember that number is an average and takes into account all of the individuals who have illnesses that require regular doctor visits. That statistic really means that many of the people in the United States don’t go to the doctor at all through the course of an entire year, even for basic preventative services.

With new laws in place, that number should be changing for children, as they should be getting free preventative screenings no matter how much money their parents earn. Still, a lot of adults won’t be able to go to the doctor if they have to pay out of pocket.

Prescription Costs Are Too High
In the United States, many people use prescription drugs on a regular basis, just like they do around the world. Many of the larger pharmaceutical companies advertise on television to get people interested in their medication.

However, a lot of the people in the United States who really need a particular medication for their health can’t afford it because they have to pay out of pocket. In some cases, prescription drugs can cost hundreds of dollars for a single month’s supply, and that’s not a cost that the average person can simply absorb in a down economy.

While there are some programs in place to help low-income individual and families get the medication they need to stay healthy, these programs are few and far between, and many who need them don’t qualify because of incredibly low minimum earnings standards. When contrasted with the high cost of living in many places, a person who is above the poverty line with a family still may not be able to afford to spend more than $100 per month on a prescription drug.

In many cases, this leaves people simply going without or choosing a workaround option that really isn’t as effective.

The reason many people simply can’t get fair prices in the United States is that drug companies really get to charge whatever they want, especially for new medications. There are no caps, no regulations in place, and only expired patents that allow other companies to make a generic version, in hopes of being able to bring down the cost of prescription drugs in the US.

For many people, this is the biggest problem in the US health care system.