What are the main problems of the US Health Care System?
The U.S. government and many organizations in the country are working on the betterment of the healthcare system. Most of the healthcare facilities are owned and run by private sector organizations. The U.S. spends a huge amount on healthcare per capita and on healthcare as percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Baumol and Blinder 467). However, the country is still facing many problems in healthcare system.
Lack of health insurance coverage is one of the most important problems faced by healthcare system in the U.S. It has been reported that in 2011, the U.S. healthcare expenditures were about 18% of GDP, whereas the average amount among OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) was about 9%. In case of health expenditures per capita, the U.S. is spending about $8,500 per person, whereas other OECD countries are spending less than $3,500 per person, but still life expectancy in the U.S. ranked at 40th number in the world. Life expectancy in the U.S. increased by about 9 years in the years from 1960 to 2011 that is less than many OECD countries in which life expectancy increased by more than 11 years (Baumol and Blinder 467).
Significant increases in the cost of healthcare are considered as a serious problem in delivering the quality as well as quantity of medical care to the Americans. Americans are paying more for healthcare as compared to people from many other developed nations. Most of the people, from poor as well as middle class, are unable to get proper health services due to the high cost of healthcare. Reports showed that about 10% of Americans avoided or put off dental or healthcare in 2012 due to high cost. In the same year, about 17% of all Americans below 65 years of age had no healthcare insurance, and the percentage was higher, i.e. about 26%, for younger Americans in the age range of 19-25 years (Baumol and Blinder 467).
Studies also show that a third or more of the U.S. spending on healthcare annually is wasteful or ineffective. Redundant health administration practices are also responsible for wastage of healthcare costs. It has been estimated that about 30% of all Medicare clinical care expenditure could be saved without worsening the condition of healthcare. This percentage reaches to hundreds of billions of dollars in savings when extrapolated to overall U.S. healthcare expenditure. Fraud and abuse also adds billions of dollars to U.S. healthcare spending. It was estimated that total waste in the healthcare system in the U.S. reaches about $700 billion per year. This waste includes $100 billion to $150 billion on administrative system inefficiencies, $75 billion to $100 billion on provider errors and inefficiencies, $25 billion to $50 billion on lack of care coordination, $250 billion to $325 billion on unwarranted use of treatment and diagnostic services, $25 billion to $50 billion on avoidable care and preventable conditions, and $125 billion to $175 billion on fraud and abuse. More recent studies show problematic condition in healthcare system by placing the amount of total waste in the range of $558 billion to $1263 billion per year (Patel, and Rushefsky 271). All this is showing that healthcare cost control methods in the U.S. need proper research and improvement.
In order to control the costs and make healthcare more affordable, new healthcare regulations and Affordable Care Act in 2010 helped a lot. Significant slowdown in the increasing rates of healthcare costs have been seen in the recent years, but still cost and affordability are important problems to consider (Baumol and Blinder 467).
The U.S. healthcare system is also facing the problem of medical malpractice. It has been estimated that somewhere between 210,000 to 400,000 people in the U.S. die every year as a result of hospital medical errors. In 2011, it was reported that about 1 in 14 doctors in the U.S. faces a case of malpractice every year. Development of better medical malpractice policies is important to deal with this problem (Corapi, pbs.org).
In the U.S., doctor shortage is also a problem, especially in rural areas, as most of the doctors go to cities and affluent areas, thereby making it problematic for healthcare delivery in rural areas. This is the reason that sometimes people in rural areas are unable to have access to primary care physicians. On the other hand, sometimes, it also becomes difficult to become a doctor as their medical school debt can reach to six figures. This shortage of doctors will increase by 2025 (Bernstein, washingtonpost.com). Moreover, working of doctors in different states sometimes become difficult as they have to complete complex licensing applications and submit authenticating documents in each state, and all these processes can take from months to a year to be completed.
Experts are of opinion that one of the biggest challenges faced by the U.S. healthcare system is management problem. Almost all healthcare leaders are of opinion that the U.S. healthcare industry need significant changes, and these changes can only be addressed with appropriate management. It has also been reported that poor and outdated IT infrastructure is another important problem behind poor healthcare system. Sometimes, misalignment with physicians and cultural resistance also become problems in healthcare system (Merrild, hbr.org).
Works Cited
Baumol, W., and A. Blinder. Microeconomics: Principles and Policy. Cengage Learning, 2015. Print.
Bernstein, L. "U.S. faces 90,000 doctor shortage by 2025, medical school association warns". The Washington Post, 2014. Web. Jan. 21, 2016.
Corapi, S. "Could malpractice reform save the U.S. health care system?" PBS, 2014. Web. Jan. 21, 2016.
Merrild, P. "The Biggest U.S. Health Care Challenges Are Management Challenges." Harvard Business Review, 2015. Web. Jan 21, 2016.
Patel, K., and M.E. Rushefsky. Healthcare Politics and Policy in America: 2014. Taylor & Francis, 2014. Print.
