The Strengths and Weaknesses of the US Health Care System - Research Paper Example

? Health Care Reform Briefly describe the U.S Health Care system. Identify the people, professionals, and organizations that have something to say about how the health is delivered, paid for in the U.S. The US health care system is a complex system of both public and private sectors insurers and insurance companies. The United States spends a hefty amount of money with respect to health care and is the third highest of per capita spending on health in the world. There are two extreme views about the system. Some people say that the US has the state of the art systems in place with respect to health care whereas at the other end people are of the view that policies and procedures are inefficient and flawed pointing to the fact that the US spends so much money on health care yet it fails to provide adequate quality and still there is a around 16% of people who are un insured. Many Americans believe that health care should be right for all citizens living in the country. The health care has grown increasingly expensive and the president has stated that the high spending of taxes on health care is a growing burden on the US economy and needs reform (Procon, 2010). In 2007 there were reportedly 62.1% filings of bankruptcies due to the health care and medical debt .(CBS,2009)The United States spends around 16% of its GDP as health care spending and is increasing since.(OECD,2009) The US health care system is composed of both private and public health care providers. Medicaid and Medicare are primary health care programs in the public sector for aged people and low income group. The CHIP is program for the children of families that are not covered through Medicaid and VA the veterans’ administration is a federal program for military personnel. Then there is the private insurance through benefits of waged employees by companies (Ping-Chua, 2006). The following diagram incorporates the people, organizations and the government as to how they link together in the US health care system. Out of Pocket Expenses Taxes Medicare, Medicaid Premiums Provider Payments Public Employee Premiums 2. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the U.S health care system? The United States Heath system has come under great stress from all factions since recent times. However the system has both, its strong points and flaws. If we look at the strengths we find that the United States is home to one of the finest and state of the art medical facilities and health personnel. (Donohue, 2010) Many of the world’s best practitioners have moved to the Unites States that has helped the country gain a lot of advantage. There are many private insurance companies that continue to play a strong role in supporting the population towards health facilities. There is ongoing innovation and research in the sector and there is a lot of capital being pumped in the sector for the same. However, critics argue that the whole system is flawed (Capretta, 2009). Many citizens believe that they pay a lot of taxes and bear a heavy cost but do not get the same level of quality in health care. There still remains a very high number of people who cannot afford health insurance in the United States around 10-15 million. (Donohue, 2010) Also the heavy tax exemption on health benefits, have led to expansive health insurance in the private sector and hence have drawn the prices to exceedingly high levels. (Capretta, 2009) 3. How many people in the U.S do not have health insurance? Who are they? It is reported that around 50.7 million people in the United States are uninsured that is roughly one in every 6 Americans. The high number entails to the many people losing their jobs in the recent years and hence loosing private health insurance as well. It also pertains to many families who are going without coverage in order to reduce household living expenses. Also rising costs of health had led to a decrease as well. According to the US Census people with Hispanic origin were the most affected with being uninsured. Texas is the state with the highest number of people who are uninsured followed by New Mexico around. (ASPE, 2011) An estimate of around 60% of the uninsured people, live in households with annual incomes less than $50000. The table below shows some demographics of the uninsured population in the United States. (ASPE, 2011) Uninsured Rates by Age, Race/Ethnicity and Household Income Percent of the Total Population Percent of the Uninsured Uninsured Rate Age Under 18 24.5% 14.6% 9.8% 18-24 9.7% 16.2% 27.2% 25-34 13.6% 23.7% 28.4% 35-44 13.0% 17.4% 21.8% 45-64 26.4% 26.5% 16.3% 65 and older 12.8% 1.6% 2.0% Race/ Ethnicity White 79.5% 74.9% 15.4% White, Non-Hispanic 64.5% 46.3% 11.7% Black 12.8% 16.3% 20.8% Asian 4.7% 5.2% 18.1% Hispanic (any race) 16.3% 30.7% 30.7% Household Income Less than $25,000 19.6% 32.4% 26.9% $25,000-49,999 23.1% 30.9% 21.8% $50,000-$74,999 18.7% 17.7% 15.4% $75,000 more 38.5% 19.0% 8.0% Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Income Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010, 2011. 4. Briefly describe the Patient Protection and Affordable care of 2010. In your description, include which changes have already been implemented, and which changes will be introduced in the future. The patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was promulgated and finalized as law in 2010. It is also known as Obama care .The PPACA requires that those individuals not covered under any employer insurance plan or government sponsored insurance plan to at least sustain a minimum level of insurance policy or otherwise they are required to pay a penalty fee unless they are exempted by law. The PPACA tends to increase the tax net through different reforms, increase quality of health care while keeping the costs under $900 billion while, at the same time increasing affordability of health care. A number of reforms have been underway for example restaurant chains with more than 20 outlets are required to mention the caloric content in the menu. Children until the age of 26 can remain on their parents health plan. Medicare was further expanded to rural hospitals and areas. Employers will also report about the health plans and insurance status of their employees. There has also been an independent entity created to perform Comparative effectiveness research which would examine clinical effectiveness health treatment outcomes. (Wilcox,2010) Some reforms in the future include that by 2014, a minimum coverage plan needs to be held by everyone otherwise a penalty will be charged. Employers with more than 200 employees must have full coverage of health insurance for their employees. Additional tax of 0.9% will be imposed on self-employed individuals whose salary exceeds $200000 annually. Insurers are prohibited to charge higher premiums from people already having some ailments. (Wilcox,2010) 5. How will the aging of the U.S population affect the health care industry? It is expected that the US elderly population will increase around 135% by 2050 whereas a group of people above the age of 85 will increase to 350%.(Wiener & Tilly, 2008) Now this clearly indicates that the elderly population is going to grow and the impact will certainly be noteworthy. A cardinal issue in this respect is the change from acute illnesses to chronic diseases for which greater health care is required thereby also giving rise to costs. Medicare costs will rise and more long term financing will be required. More social security will be paid out to the elderly population and hence decreasing the amount of health care’s funding. More people and professionals will be required in the health industry and proper policies and procedures need to be defined for this particular age group. Since, aging pertains to higher risk of getting sick and falling prey to diseases the implications with respect to cost will surely be immense as the premium charged for them would also increase. 6. There are three major concerns related to health care in the U.S: access, cost, and quality. Is it possible to correct all these problems simultaneously? In your opinion, which of these three do the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act best address? The major issues certainly are access, cost and quality and perhaps the challenge for every government has always been to strike a balance in all three but have failed. Having built a fair understanding about the US health care system, we have come to realize that the government has been focusing on increase the parameter of the health system and improve quality. However it would be extremely difficult to curtail costs by bringing more people in the insurance net and also quality would be sacrificed. The PPACA has targeted access and quality in its agenda but I believe the cost would certainly go up, since the government seeks to increase its spending by magnifying the tax net and imposing more taxes in the long run. The key answer lies in balancing more access to health system by not compromising on quality and managing costs at low levels. References (ASPE), O. o. (2011). Overview Of The Uninsured in The United States: A Summary Of The 2011 Current Population Survey. Department Of Health and Human Services. Capretta, J. C. (2009). Healthcare In the United States: Strengths,Weaknesses & the way Forward. CBHD. CBS. (2009, May 6). Retrieved April 09, 2012, from CBS News. Chua, K. P. (2006). Overview of the US Health Care System. Donohue, T. (2008, February 12). US Health Care. Retrieved April 8, 2012, from Free Enterprise: www.freeenterprise.com/2008/02/us-health-cares Joshua M Wiener, J. T. (2010). Population Ageing in the United States of America:Implications for Public Programmes. Procon. (2012, March 13). Health. Retrieved April 9, 2012, from Procon: www.health.procon.com Wilcox, C. (2010). Summary Of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Mc Cormick Klessig and Associates. Read More