Essay on "Healthcare Issues, Systems, and Policies"

Essay 5 pages (1435 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

By inundating members of both houses of Congress with lobbyists, that sector (just like the investment and banking sectors) employs approximately six lobbyists per legislator (Kennedy, 2006).

The relationships and tacit mutual understandings that are generated through this political lobbying process routinely produce legislation that is economically beneficial to the industries represented by lobbyists and (in effect) also stifles any legislative changes that would limit or threaten the profitability of the healthcare and health insurance industry. In addition to the direct effect of premium increases on healthcare costs, the complete dominance of private healthcare by the health insurance companies (and certain inefficiencies in Medicare and Medicaid) contributes indirectly (but substantially) to the cost of healthcare by encouraging providers to increase their fees for services, since their actual patients pay for such a small percentage of services furnished to them. The predominance of the "Don't worry, it's covered" mentality promotes the unnecessary duplication of service, lack of emphasis on preventative medicine, and price inflation throughout American healthcare. As a result, the direct cost of healthcare (without insurance) is impossibly expensive and approximately 50 million Americans lack access to healthcare (except for healthcare rendered as emergency services) because they cannot afford health insurance (Tumulty, Pickert, & Park, 2010).

Comparison to other Nations

Canadian healthcare is modelled after the British National Health Service (NHS) system (Reid, 2009) under which socialized nationally-subsidized healthcare services are available to the entire population at no direct cost. As in many European nations with entirely socialized healthcare programs, in the British-based model, physicians and other healthcare providers are paid substantially in relation to the health of their patients rather than by the number of services they deliver. They are also penalized for unnecessary duplication of services that could have been prevented by better coordination among and between multiple service providers. That is another systemic problem throughout American medicine in both the public and private sectors. Also like other nations with universal health systems, there are problems of relative unavailability (or inconvenient or delayed) access by virtue of demand in relation to providers in Canada (Reid, 2009).

Likewise, Japan has had universal health insurance in place (called "kaihoken") for more than half a century and represents a dramatic example of a nation whose standard or living and healthcare systems grew rapidly and simultaneously since World War II (Reid, 2009). Japanese populations enjoy highly efficient and available healthcare services at a relative cost (in relation to GDP) that is barely more than one-fifth of the cost of American healthcare. Currently, Japan is also experiencing economic challenges to its healthcare model that are likely similar to the types of challenges that the U.S. would also have to deal with in connection with general economic issues, but in the U.S., those issues are dwarfed by the other systemic problems. Saudi Arabia also provides an example of national healthcare system efficiency. Under the Ministry of Health Facilities, the Kingdom provides comprehensive universal health coverage for all citizens. Like Britain and Canada, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also focuses on preventative and the coordination of healthcare services (Reid, 2009).

Conclusion

If the U.S. is ever to resolve the problems of its healthcare systems, it must address and make significant changes to the rules governing the relationships between legislators and private-sector industries. That is a necessary but insufficient condition for comprehensive healthcare reform. It merely paves the way for the eventual shift to some form of "socialized" medicine, such as the public healthcare models and approaches (or just some of their individual elements). In general, the only foreseeable approach capable of reforming all of necessary aspects of American healthcare is to address issues such as preventative medicine, healthcare provider compensation models, and the inappropriate influence of private sector interests on the legislative and political processes (in general).

References

Carey, J. "Smarter Patients, Cheaper Care." Business Week (June 22, 2009): 22-23.

Dykman, J. "Five Truths about Health Care in America." Time, Vol. 172, No. 22 (2008):

42-51.

Kennedy, E. (2006). America: Back on Track. Viking Press: New York.

Reid T. (2009). The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care. New York: Penguin Books.… READ MORE

How to Reference "Healthcare Issues, Systems, and Policies" Essay in a Bibliography

Related Essays:

Healthcare Issues With the Provision Thesis

Healthcare

Issues with the Provision of Healthcare in the United States: An International Comparison

The issue of healthcare reform in the United States is in the news constantly right now,… read more

Thesis 4 pages (1180 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA Topic: Healthcare / Health / Obamacare

---

U.S. Health Care Delivery System and Drivers for Change Research Paper

U.S. Health Care Delivery System

Statistics and information regarding the U.S. health care system are ubiquitous and tell a distressing story about its present condition but also its future trajectory.… read more

Research Paper 3 pages (870 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Healthcare / Health / Obamacare

---

Health Care Issues Term Paper

healthcare concerns, they most normally first consider chronic illnesses that will cause a much lower quality of life if not an earlier death than normal. However, there a number of… read more

Term Paper 3 pages (1047 words) Sources: 5 Style: APA Topic: Healthcare / Health / Obamacare

---

Health Care System Evolution Organizational Analysis and Continuum Essay

Health Care System Evolution, Organizational Analysis and Continuum of Care

The objective of this work is to examine the evolution of the health care system and how health care delivery… read more

Essay 14 pages (3702 words) Sources: 6 Style: APA Topic: Healthcare / Health / Obamacare

---

Healthcare Reform History of Socialized Medicine American Term Paper

Healthcare Reform

History of Socialized Medicine

American Health care history

Allopathic vs. Homeopathic Approaches to Healing

The medical industrial complex

The Affordable Care Act in Detail

Impact of the Affordable… read more

Term Paper 8 pages (2697 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Healthcare / Health / Obamacare

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>