Is The American Health System Really The Best In The World?

Health Insurance in America: Is America Really the Best in the World?
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Health Insurance in America: Is America Really the Best in the World?
Heath insurance is an issue that dominates the economic, political, and social discussions in America. The healthcare costs in the US have been rising over the years, and therefore, there is a need for a solution to be developed. The members of the working population have to be healthy in order to discharge their duties well. In addition, organizations depend significantly on healthy employees to keep productivity at optimum levels. Given that this productivity contributes to the economy of the nation, public health should be a priority for the government. This essay argues that the American healthcare system is not the best in the world because of its affordability limitations, access barriers, average health outcomes, and gap of proper care between the wealthy and lower-income citizens.
The health care costs in the US are extremely high, and this poses affordability limitations for most members of the population. According to Berwick & Hackbarth (2012), the healthcare costs in the country are unsustainable given that a high portion of the GDP is directed to it. According to the authors, about 18% of the country’s GDP in 2011 went healthcare. The figure is expected to reach 20% in 2020 signifying that the costs of healthcare are increasing. According to the article, there is an urgent need for the healthcare costs in the country to be brought down for both private and public payers. It is significant to note that the healthcare expenditure in the US is highest in the world and this further underpins the need to address the escalating costs. As pointed out by Kane (2012), the US spends about $8,233 annually per person on healthcare. This figure is extremely high when compared to other developed nations in the world (Kane, 2012). The high cost of healthcare in the country means that the members of the population have to pay high insurance premiums. With the costs of healthcare on the increase, it means that the insurance premiums increase as well. It is also important to note that the cost of buying insurance is rising higher than wages (Tracer, 2017). While five years ago workers shouldered 27% of family insurance plan, today the figure stands at 30% (Tracer, 2017). In addition, there has been a 19% rise in the premiums for premiums of family insurance plan provided by employers (Tracer, 2017). These statistics further shows how healthcare is increasingly becoming unaffordable for members of the American population. Therefore, the fact that healthcare in the US is increasingly becoming unaffordable shows that the healthcare system is not the best when compared to other countries in the world.
The presence of healthcare access barriers also limits the chances of US healthcare system becoming the world’s best. Although advanced healthcare technologies may be present, they become useless if they are not accessed. The access to healthcare depends on the location of physicians and that of the population. According to Luo & Wang (2003), rural areas are characterized by a low number of physicians. This means patients in rural areas find it hard to access physicians. According to Kane (2012), the US has a fewer number of physicians compared to other OECD countries. The average number of physicians per 1000 people in OECD countries is 3.1 while that of the US is 2.4 (Kane, 2012). The fewer number of physicians in the country further increases the healthcare access barriers. Another study by Syed, Gerber, & Sharp (2013) found that transportation problem is a major barrier to healthcare access the country. The vulnerable populations are the ones wh...