Pros and Cons of the US Healthcare System - Research Paper Example

This research paper examines the US healthcare system which still works around the principle that only people with enough resources such as financial and access to health care insurance are entitled to avail appropriate care and cure in the event of an illness. The objective of the current administration to enforce universal healthcare has still much challenges to overcome and, in the meantime, the prevailing system set the case of the US unique throughout the world. According to Weiss, this healthcare policy is aligned with America's capitalist and liberal economics ideologies, wherein government assumes less control and people will have more incentive to work hard and well if their health and life depended on it.

This health care policy perspective has both positive and negative consequences. And this paper will outline some of the most important of these. The current healthcare system in the US balances the social, political, economic and even cultural interests. Here, healthcare involve the private sector but with significant public involvement. This is the reason why it is called as a mixed market type of healthcare model. It operates for-profit and not-for-profit objectives at the same time. The main benefit of this system is its efficiency and efficacy because it fundamentally runs to make profit.

Unarguably, healthcare in the US leads in the way treatments and care extend and improve lives. However, many assail it for its astronomical cost, placing heavy burdens on businesses, states and the federal government.. However, many assail it for its astronomical cost, placing heavy burdens on individuals, businesses, states and the federal government since a substantial chunk of the American population have trouble coping with the cost because many still do not have insurance coverage. (US Congress 2008, p. 1) This is a huge problem because it means that many do not have access to- or denied medical care.

In other instances, the financial health of some are significantly reduced as healthcare expenditures are known to already bankrupt some citizens. The Congress reported: Spending on health care services… accounts for about 17 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) – an expected total of about $2.6 trillion in 2009 – and under current law… is projected to reach nearly 20 percent by 2017. (p.1) The above figures speak for themselves. In tandem with the money that the federal government has to spend for the Medicaid and Medicare programs, they represent one of the biggest problems that hinder the US drive for fiscal soundness and economic recovery.

Specific to the issue, the proponents stress that the proof of success for the health care system lies in the use and access to the service and not merely the presence of facility or the capability of the service provider. The focus on privatization of the system has made public welfare subordinate to profit, which for many critics, is unjust and inhumane. Conclusion The US healthcare is currently being reformed for the purposes that are cited by this paper – health care access for all. The current regime in place is bent on establishing universal health coverage for all Americans.

But the initiative faces daunting resistance from different sectors. The opposition party is particularly