HLT 205 Week 1 Discussion Question One
HLT 205 Week 1 Discussion Question One
Compare and contrast the U.S. health care system to the health care system of another country. What similarities or difference s exist? Cite references to support your answer.
Health care in the United States is provided by many distinct organizations, made up of insurance companies, healthcare providers, hospital systems, and independent providers.[1][2] Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by private sector businesses. 58% of community hospitals in the United States are non-profit, 21% are government-owned, and 21% are for-profit.[3] According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States spent $9,403 on health care per capita, and 17.9% on health care as
percentage of its GDP in 2014. Healthcare coverage is provided through a combination of private health insurance and public health coverage (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid). The United States does not have a universal healthcare program, unlike most other developed countries.[4][5]
In 2013, 64% of health spending was paid for by the government,[6][7] and funded via programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Veterans Health Administration. People aged under 65 acquire insurance via their or a family member’s employer, by purchasing health insurance on their own, getting government and/or other assistance based on income or another condition, or are uninsured. Health insurance for public sector employees is primarily provided by the government in its role as employer.[8] Managed care, where payers use various techniques intended to improve quality and limit cost, has become ubiquitous.
The United States life expectancy is 78.6 years at birth, up from 75.2 years in 1990; this ranks 42nd among 224 nations, and 22nd out of the 35 industrialized OECD countries, down from 20th in 1990.[9][10] In 2016 and 2017 life expectancy in the United States dropped for the first time since 1993.[11] Of 17 high-income countries studied by the National Institutes of Health, the United States in 2013 had the highest or near-highest prevalence of obesity, car accidents, infant mortality, heart and lung disease, sexually transmitted infections, adolescent pregnancies, injuries, and homicides.[12] A 2017 survey of the healthcare systems of 11 developed countries found the US healthcare system to be the most expensive and worst-performing in terms of health access, efficiency, and equity.[13] In a 2018 study, the USA ranked 29th in healthcare access and quality.[14]
The rate of adults uninsured for health care peaked at 18.0% in 2013 prior to the ACA mandate, fell to 10.9% in the third quarter of 2016, and stood at 13.7% in the fourth quarter of 2018, based on surveys by the Gallup organization beginning in 2008.[15] At over 27 million, the number of people without health insurance coverage in the United States is one of the primary concerns raised by advocates of health care reform. A 2009 study done at Harvard Medical School with Cambridge Health Alliance by co-founders of Physicians for a National Health Program, a pro-single payer lobbying group, showed that nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with a lack of patient health insurance. The study also found that uninsured, working Americans have an approximately 40% higher mortality risk compared to privately insured working Americans.