Healthcare in the United States is a problem, and it has been for a while. Although this is a widely known fact, I don’t think that the severity of the issue is fully understood. According to the Commonwealth Fund, the United States ranks in last place in comparison to the top-eleven wealthiest countries. In terms of access, equity, outcomes, and efficiency, the US ticks none of the boxes.
Our healthcare system has a high-spending, low-quality problem. As of 2020, the average American spends roughly $12,000 dollars annually on healthcare. Compared to the averages in other countries, this is about double of what those citizens spend.
The inordinate amount of expense is self-explanatorily inconvenient for many in the US, but it is especially difficult for low-income families. Imagine this: you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck, and you have to meet with a doctor about a personal health issue. You have to call in sick to work, which you can’t afford to do, but your health is a priority. The physician’s appointment is $200 after insurance.
After waiting for an hour, you finally meet with your doctor… for a whopping five minutes. You did not get a majority of your questions answered, you were given no remedies, and you just wasted both your time and money. This occurrence is unfortunately a universal experience. It’s clear as to why the US ticks off all the wrong boxes.
The mere act of staying at a hospital costs money. If you were to give birth and stay for only three days, it would cost around $16,000. This is excluding the cost of the actual birth. In Spain, a hospital stay costs $500 per day on average, meaning it would cost only $1,500 for three days of care.
Overtreatment is also a significant issue. It wastes resources, time, and money, and it can cause harm to the patient. This is a detrimental situation for all parties involved. An example of this is a cortisone shot in the ankle to treat tendinitis, while a shoe insert can work just as well.
According to the American Medical Association, over 70% of people who took a survey received unnecessary treatment. In 2010, the Institute of Medicine found that $210 billion, of the $750 billion wasted in the US yearly, is from unnecessary healthcare treatment. People have to go out of their way to receive healthcare, and for it to end up as a waste is a shame.
Mental health is just as important as physical health. Kaiser Permanente is California’s highest health insurer; its viability is pivotal for all Californians. Nevertheless, the American Psychological Association declared Kaiser as the worst mental healthcare provider it has ever encountered. This leads back to access, because it is so difficult to book appointments with Kaiser. The waiting period for a session can range anywhere from a minimum of 4 weeks to an eon of 4 months, depending on how staffed the clinic is.
The root of this is Kaiser’s lack of mental health providers, which contributes to the inaccessibility. Unfortunately, many mental healthcare providers share these same problems. A therapy session, without insurance, can cost upwards of $250 per hour. Fortunately, insurance can cover roughly 80% of this.
The Commonwealth Fund says that even Americans who are insured spend more out-of-pocket money than people in other first world nations. The point of healthcare and insurance is to make your life easier. US healthcare does the complete opposite.
While there is no definitive way to solve this problem, we and future generations can still work towards electing politicians who plan to repair our healthcare system. This is why it is important to stay educated on this matter, to have our facts straight in order to make the correct decisions.
