Why Despite the Huge Budget of Americans Health Care They Are Still Left Behind in Medical Care - Coursework Example

The health of the country's populace can be ascribed as a measure on how a government cares about its citizenry. For the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. "injustice in health care is the most shocking and humane." Among the government's roles is to ensure the welfare of its subordinates. Health care is one of the biggest factors under this role. A nations' health cannot be compromised by the wealth it has. Yet there are some rich countries that perform poorly when it comes to caring for its citizens' health. The United States was the largest spender in terms of health care with 15% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). However it lags behind when it comes to the quality of the service it renders for the welfare of its citizens. In a report published by World Health Organization (WHO) in 2000. the United States was ranked 37th in the world in health care (Neergaard, 2000). This only shows that America's opulence and superpower status does not mean that it has the healthiest populace. How come that despite the huge budget of Americans, compared to the French and the Japanese, in health care they are still left behind in terms of medical care What are the yardsticks by which we measure the effectiveness of the health care system of a nation According to the same WHO report that mentioned the poor heath care performance of the United States, the criteria that wherein they base their criteria on the three primary goals that a superb health system should do. The first criteria is the status of health of the people, the second refers to the responsiveness of the health care system to the medical needs to the citizenry, and the last refers to the fairness in financing the costs that the public incurs. State of US Health Care There are many different indicators that present the overall health status and well being of a country's population. Among the most important of them are infant mortality rates and "disability-adjusted life expectancy ('the number of healthy years that can be expected on average in a given population.'). In 1998, the infant mortality of the United States was 7.2 per 1000 live births. This figure makes US 26th among the industrialized nations. Though, in the same report, the US ranked first in its responsiveness to client/patient health expectations, it does not provide an accurate picture of the real events that take place in the US soil. Though it is true that US health care provides the best service, another unfortunate revelation is the unfortunate fact that US has the most expensive health care system in the world. In 1998, the US spent $4,178 per person on health, more than twice the amount of the median of developed and industrialized countries, which was pegged at $1,783 per person. On top of this is the unequal access of Americans to health care. Millions of Americans do not have insurance or have limited access to finance health care. The United States is one of the two industrialized countries (the other is South Africa) that do not provide health care for all its citizens (World Health Organization, as cited by The University of Maine, pp.2-5). This leaves millions of Americans incapable of enjoying the quality of medical care service that is touted as the best in the world. All the above data were published in a WHO report published in 2000. What is alarming is after seven years this issue has not been resolved. In 2005, more than 46 million US residents are still uninsured and desperately need adequate health care. By increasingly shifting health care costs to employees, employers pass their responsibility of providing health coverage to US workers, leaving them struggling to pay higher premiums, deductibles, and co-payments. Because of this, most of them opted to forgo health insurance, risking their lives to be subjected to health hazards without appropriate and timely financial relief (American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations). Another glaring issue that haunts US health care is the existence of corporate oligopolies in medical service industry. This means that only a few giant American firms own or control a booming share of medical service, leaving Americans to a very small option. This situation results into a health care service heavily influenced by financial gain that can sacrifice the quality of service (Himmelstein & Woolhandler). Universal Health Care Coverage: Suggested Solution With the high cost in health care combined with a very limited federal health care support, most Americans wanted a universal health care coverage scheme enforced in countries such as France and Japan. In a poll conducted by telephone by ABC News/ Washington Post last October 9-13, 2003 62% of Americans prefer Universal Coverage system than the current system. In addition to this, in a poll of 1,201 adults on September 7-12, 2006 conducted by USA Today, 79% of the respondents support requiring businesses to offer health insurance to full-time employees and said employers should be required to cover 64%, as well. 65% support requiring all Americans to have health insurance, either from an employer or another source, with tax credits to help low-income people pay for it; and 82% support the expansiion of other government health programs such as Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program that provides insurance to millions of children and parents. This data show that majority of Americans desire a universal coverage healthcare system. Universal Healhcare Coverage In other industrialized nations, healthcare is provided by the government under the universal coverage scheme. Among the OECD (developed and industrialized) countries, France and Japan performed outstandingly in healthcare. France In France, a national health insurance plan, known as securite sociale, covers all workers who are employee (salarie) in status. Even their spouses and children are covered by the insurance. For people who does not fall under this salarie status, they are required to take out a special coverage known as assurance personelle. Aside from these insurance schemes, other people purchase additional insurance to add to the program run by the state. Though one of the expensive, French healthcare system ranks first in the world (FrenchEntre). One primary reason is, in 2000, France introduced the le Couverture maladie universelle (CMU) that provides health insurance to all stable and legal residents in France. This means that any person who has uninterrupted residence for at least three months. All residents not covered by securite sociale is are mandated by law to enroll in this medical program. This program is free for households with less than 6,609 euros annual salary of taxable revenue. The overall French health care system is funded by its working population (20% of their gross salary is deducted at source) (National Coalition on Health Care, p.1). French people enjoy the right to choose their own physician, whether a general practitioner or a specialist, and ordinarily pay their doctor's fee. They afterwards reimburse 75-80% of the cost. To ensure a healthy citizenry the poorest people are not expected to pay. It is recognised that payment might deter the poorest people from seeking care and so about 6 million people are not expected to pay. All patients, whether they are exempted from copayments or not, may go directly to a specialist either outside or within a hospital. French national insurance makes no distinction between public and private hospitals and patients have complete freedom of choice. Japan Similar to that of France, Japan's universal health coverage system can be divided into two categories: National Health Insurance and Employees' Health Insurance. Membership in either programs is compulsory. The program is so appealing to the Japanese that according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), they seldom acquire private health insurance. People working for medium to large campanies. National or local government, or in private schools constitute the members of Employee Health Insurance. The system is paid half by the employer and half by the employee. On average, 4% of the person's salary is contributed for this scheme. Benefits of people under this program is ranges from 20% of the total hospitalization fee and 30% of out-patient care costs. Copayments can also be required for fees in prescription drugs. The patients or his spouse receive an allowance based on their salary. In case of death, funeral allowance is also paid. The National Health Insurance, on the other hand, covers agriculture, forestry, or fisheries and those who are self-employed , and unemployed (eg. expectant mothers, students, retirees, etc.). 30% of the in-patient and out-patient costs, and also co-payments for prescription drugs are covered under this plan. With all the benefits that a patient can recieve in these different universal health coverage, the United States really lags behind other OECD countries in terms of health care. While the US boasts of its economic and military might, it still has to peek into the little yet essential things that really matter most in a healthy nation. While its citizen work double-time in providing their services to the world's superpower, it is quite ridiculous to think that its government is adamant to the pleas and sentiments of its citiizenry. It only needs a simple yet essential move to maintain and improve the health of its people. It needs a universal healthcare coverage that encompasses not only the financially capable but also to the most impoverished in the land of opportunity. Works Cited American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations. What's Wrong with America's Health Care. 2007. 20 Apr. 2007. Appleby, Julie. Consumer unease with U.S. care grows. 16 Oct. 2006. USA Today. 20 Apr. 2007. Green, David G., Irvine, Ben, and Ben Cackett. Health Care in France. 2005. The Institute for the Study of Civil Society. 20 Apr. 2007. Healthcare in France - An Introduction. 2007. French Entre 20 Apr. 2007. Himmelstein, David U. and Steffie Woolhandler. Why the US Needs a Single Payer Health System. 2006. Physicians for a National Health Program. 20 Apr. 2007. Health Care in Japan. National Coalition on Health Care. 20 Apr. 2007. . Health Care in France. National Coalition on Health Care. Ward, Johanna and Cynthia M. Piccolo. Healthcare in Japan. 19 Sep. 2004. MedHunters. 20 Apr. 2007. Read More