America spends about 20% of her gross national product on health care affairs, exceeding any other country in the world. Over the years medical expenses have been rapidly raising that inflation. Theoretically, when there is an increase in the demand for a service there is always a corresponding supply for the service and the same applies to health care. Conversely, the cost of health care is not only determined by forces of demand and supply.
It can be determined by a factor such as political policies, like increased regulations or additional taxes. For instance, when the US government passed Medicaid and Medicare and constrained the supply of health practitioners and hospitals there was an enormous increase in demand. This led to the cost of health care doubling the rate of inflation. Additionally, both Medicaid and Medicare pay based on the amount of labor they put in rather than being proficient (Cohn, 2007). This results in higher charges for the people who use the system.
Although there has been an improvement in the health of American’s as a result of using new drugs and technologies, they pile on the cost of health care. Both doctors and patients have developed the habit of demanding the modest means of treatment- which is usually expensive, even when it is not necessary (Rossen & Faroque, 2016). Moreover, research has shown that despite there being evidence that a particular treatment has adverse side effects; it might take quite a long period before patients stop demanding it. Because most citizens lack sufficient information to decide on the medical service that best suits them.
In conclusion, research has revealed the life expectancy in the US to slightly higher than the anticipated average. Unfortunately, this has raised the cost of health, especially because; in spite people living longer they are not healthier. A huge cost is incurred in the treatment of chronic diseases which is an attribute of smoking, over-consumption of alcohol, obesity among other reckless living habits. And with the current advancement in technology such cases as obesity are likely to be on the rise and so will be the diseases associated with it.
References
Cohn, J. (2007). Sick: The untold story of America's health care crisis-- and the people who pay the price. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Rossen, B., & Faroque, A. (2016). Diagnosing the Causes of Rising Health-Care Expenditure in Canada: Does Baumol's Cost Disease Loom Large? American Journal of Health Economics, 2(2), 184-212.
