The Current State of Health Care in the United States - Essay Example

Quite often, it is a challenge viewing a specific or a particular culture from a cultural relativism perspective whereby the norms and values are perceived based on the context within which they exist. People are prone to having or basing their assessment of other cultures from their own understanding, which to a greater extent, is referred to as ethnocentrism. However, a better comprehension of another culture is achieved when an individual develops a cultural relativism approach. In this case, I embarked on reviewing the etic and emic approach or perspective to the American health care system. The etic perspective is done from than of an outsider (Kenyan) and the emic is me (as an American) describing our health culture.

PART I

In this section, the focus of my exploration will be on discussing the current state of health care in the United States using the etic approach. Accordingly, the etic approach to defining or viewing culture entails how a culture is described based on the perspective of the participant or consumers of the specific culture but at the same time, allowing for the individual consumer of the culture to leave room for the comparison with other cultures (Miner, 1956). In this case, a specific culture is viewed or regarded based on universal comparative approach. The best outsider view of the US’s health sector is by viewing from a Kenyan outsider perspective or viewpoint. Particularly, the health care system in Kenya is assessed or compared in terms of how chronic diseases like cancer are managed. Kenyan cancer patients receive different care as compared with the United States. There is the challenge of staying in the hospital for almost seven to fourteen days with extreme cases of staying longer than a month (Mulemi, 2008). Despite the growing cases of cancer in the country including stomach, prostrate and liver cancer, as well as the dreaded breast and cervical cancer, Kenya is currently facing a challenge with the management of chronic health diseases owing to the lack of facilities (Mulemi, 2008). Hence, the cancer status, since it is a universal disease, provides a benchmark for comparing the health care system in Kenya and the USA.

Kenya’s system is not well defined and developed like the USA. The USA, from a Kenyan perspective, could be the best in the world since it is funded by the government and as a developed country, does have a well-established health care system.

In Kenya for instance, since a number of the population is living in the rural areas, the people get health care services from dispensing clinics which are equally faced by major staff shortage and lack of facilities. On the other hand, the health care system in the country is currently being affected with a larger number of the health professionals seeking greener pastures abroad. In essence, the country’s heath care system is currently faced with a major lack of medical workers. For instance, the World Health Organization reported that in Kenya, there is on one doctor and a ratio of 12 nurses or midwives for every 10, 000 populations (Our Africa, 2017). Conversely, the government in trying to subsidize its contribution towards the health care sector as it established a national health fund which individuals gain membership upon subscription. However, with poor services in the government hospitals, those in the middle class and upper class always opt for private hospitals where services are perceived to be of quality. In comparison to the USA, despite having challenges with Medicare, the US health care system cannot be compared to Kenya’s health care system, considered as majorly quite a challenge owing to the large number of the population living in poverty.

The USA has a wider range of health care coverage like the Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare with government incentives for ensuring accessibility to health care services. However, for a Kenyan, the USs health care system could the best since government of Kenya is currently quite much behind as in terms of establishing a reliable heath care system to serve its populace. However, a major similarity with the system is that the NHF provided as a government incentive for improving the accessibility to heath care is equally limited by the fact that many people are living below the poverty line and may not afford member for the fund. In the same manner, most Americans fear ascribing to Medicare or Medicaid because the health care models are extremely expensive and that one risk going broke when covered by the major insurance services. However much the US health care system may appear to be worse, for a Kenyan, the America’s health system is way beyond the situation Kenya.

PART II

In this section, the culture of health is discussed form emic perspective where a culture is assessed from the perspective of the individuals within (Miner,1956) by focusing on the health culture in the USA and how it compares with other countries or cultures. As of currently, the United States has one of the mostly debated healthcare systems in the world owing to perceived excellence in health care provision. However, best to say, the country’s health care is regarded as one of the unique in the world, especially for a developed country. There is no universal or a uniform health care system, of which no universal health care coverage exists like in other countries, especially in the UK with its universal healthcare.

On the other hand, a major consideration with the USA’s healthcare system, which the world does not seem to know, is the implication of the Affordable Care Act. Since the Act was passed or came into law six years ago, the coverage for insurance has been on the increase. Accordingly, around 20 million of the citizens have obtained health care coverage or insurance since the year 2010, mainly through the Medicaid provision which offer coverage to the individuals through their parents until they reach of the age of 26 years (Baucner, 2016). The arrangement has left another 25 million of the residents without any health insurance coverage (Baucner, 2016). As opposed to usual portrayal of this great nation, this country faces a major challenge with the introduction of Medicaid which led to an escalation of the insurance coverage of health care costs, which to a greater extent, is denying or locking out many individuals from accessing health care. Ironically, it is quite or much challenging that a country that has guaranteed accessibility to education, police services, fire, military protection, national postal service as well as other public or federal or state-funded services, has not been able to provide a stable health care coverage for the individual citizens.

A major challenge with the US health care system is that the government does not have or has not put incentives for helping the individual citizens who have or hail from low-income regions seeking health care services. Medicare is the most popular with around $3.8 trillion and another 1.05 trillion of the federal budget going into the program (Heymans, 2016). As of currently, almost a half of the population is not attached to any medical insurance coverage in comparison to only 16% who had been insured before the Affordable Healthcare Act was introduced (Heymans, 2016). Medicare has disadvantaged many people because to get the help from the government, one must first qualify for assistance before getting help from the government, and even after qualification, the process or the system is currently being criticized for being unhelpful and slow.

A better comparison would be with a country like the United Kingdom currently providing universal healthcare to all the citizens. Despite complaining about the system, all the British citizens are currently enjoying free health care services, and as such, every citizen is currently able of affording medical bill (Baucner, 2016). In America, there is the challenge of a person making of going to the hospital or going broke which comparatively, is not the case in the UK. Given a comparative look between the UK and the US, it is evident that the American health care system is currently running worse than any developed nation or first-world. Hence, what seems to many as the American dream, is defined by poor and very expensive health care system and as such, the entire population is currently at risk of poor health due to the inability of accessing the health care services, all attributed to the problem with the expensive Medicare (Heymans, 2016). Given the status of the USA in geopolitics and the promise that Medicare or Medicaid was meant to provide through Affordable care Act, outsiders like the Kenyan or UK citizens may review the current state of the country’s health care system as satisfactory. However, least to their knowledge, the US currently has the worst health care system and payment models like Tricare, Medicaid as well as Medicare which has locked out the poor from insurance coverage, despite slow and poor services.

Conclusion

For an outsider, the USA’s medical or health care system is the best in the world since as a developed country, it has the necessary facilities for establishing a well and fully-functional healthcare systems. However, little to do people understand than America has major problems with its health care system so to speak. Medicaid and Medicare have rendered it impossible for people to have medical or health insurance. When compared to the UK, the European country has a better and far-reaching healthcare sector. In addition, when compared to Kenya, The Kenyan situation is worse by poor service delivery resembles the American health culture.