Health Care And How to Improve It

In a phone poll conducted in 2017 by Gallup News, 55% of Americans believe that the U.S. health care system has major problems and over the past decade that belief has stayed the same. Health care reform in the U.S. has been going on for the better part of 20 years. With that reform came debate and in the past 10 years it has been more visible in the media. The U.S. health care system gets the job done but it has a fair few flaws, such as its high cost, defensive medicine, and a lack of preventative care.

Yet the U.S. health care system excels in a couple of regions as well, being, the vast amount of medical research, in addition to the availability and use of cutting-edge technology, all the while having quick access to care if need be. One of the largest flaws in the us healthcare system is the cost, in 2016 the US spent 17.8 percent of its gross domestic product on healthcare, that’s 5 percent more than the second highest spender, Switzerland who spent 12.

4 percent of their GDP(Rapaport).  One contributor to the high spending on healthcare is the administration costs, accounting for 8 percent of the GDP in 2016, which is more than twice the average at 3 percent (Rapaport).

Generally, administration costs are higher in the US due to a more complex healthcare system, as a result it takes more time, energy, and effort to do things like accepting or deny claims, process payments, all while maintaining information systems such as scheduling and patient information.

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This complexity of the healthcare system is attributed to the multi-payer system that is currently implemented in the US. As a result of this multi-payer system each insurance provider would have its own procedures and requirements for billing, adding needless complexity to the whole process. A standardized “single-payer” approach would be the most efficient when it comes to reducing administrative costs.  This standardization would mean only one set of rules, regulations, and methods for filling out and submitting forms thus streamlining the whole ordeal. Defensive med and why it needs to stop- this paragraph is about def med and what it is, what it accomplishes and why it’s bad, then cite. Preventative care and why it needs to be implemented- what is it, how does it help, why it’s needed. Medical research and why the U.S. is so good/dominant at it even if its foreigners doing the research. Cutting edge tech both availability and use- Why we have it(being so developed on the research side of things), why it’s helpful. Quick access to care- why its important, again

Works Cited

1. Gary Price, MD, and Tim Norbeck. “U.S. Health Outcomes Compared to Other Countries Are Misleading.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 9 Apr. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/physiciansfoundation/2018/04/09/u-s-health-outcomes-compared-to-other-countries-are-misleading/#6f42d6481232.
2. Rapaport, Lisa. “U.S. Health Spending Twice Other Countries’ with Worse Results.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 13 Mar. 2018, www.reuters.com/article/us-health-spending/u-s-health-spending-twice-other-countries-with-worse-results-idUSKCN1GP2YN.
3. Ridic, et al. “Comparisons of Health Care Systems in the United States, Germany and Canada.” Materia Socio-Medica 24.2 (2012): 112–120. PMC. Web. 18 Oct. 2018.
4. Squires, David. “U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective | Commonwealth Fund.” Spending, Use of Services, Prices, and Health in 13 Countries, Commonwealthfund, 8 Oct. 2015, www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2015/oct/us-health-care-global-perspective.
5. Torrey, Trisha. “Defensive Medicine.” Verywell Health, Verywellhealth, 4 July 2018, www.verywellhealth.com/defensive-medicine-2615160.
6. “Americans Still Hold Dim View of U.S. Healthcare System.” Gallup.com, 11 Dec. 2017, http://news.gallup.com/file/poll/223427/171211HealthCareCrisis.pdf?g_source=link_newsv9&g_campaign=item_223403&g_medium=copy. Table.