Health Care in the US

Background information

This paper seeks to discuss universal healthcare in the United States. The United States probably has the best health care system in the World but it is not without its faults. The challenge has always been on how to provide healthcare to the American public indiscriminately. As early as the 1960s, the problem had taken root within the society in which an estimated 10 percent of the population being as poor. Taking into consideration the economical status of such a large proportion, getting proper healthcare services became a secondary need after food and shelter. It is of no surprise that in the 1970s, approximately 40 percent of births took place outside hospitals and health centers (Barbara, Mack and Steffen 34).

The United States spends trillions of US dollars a year on medical and healthcare programs though the problem persists. There have been numerous attempts by previous administrations such as President Clintons to introduce universal healthcare in the United States to no avail (Derickson 42). Though the majority may view such failures as a total failure, they did provide the stepping-stone from which the next attempts should be based. There have been various debates in public forums on whether the system should be reintroduced. What the Opposers fail to understand is that from past mistakes, the program can successfully be implemented.

Thesis statement

Approximately 20 percent of the population in the United States live below the poverty line and another 35 percent finding it difficult to meet their daily needs (Derickson 12). With the current state of affairs in the United States, majority of the population face being locked out of the healthcare system. The cost of healthcare has over the years grown to an extent that about 33 percent of the United States population cannot afford the services. Despite the fact that the government has come up with numerous programs and policies that come in handy to majority of the public, it is still not enough. The only way that we can ensure that all individuals can access the healthcare is by making free.

Reasons behind initial failure of system

A close study of the previous attempts reveal that the governments did not take a serious look at some aspects before they undertook the project. It was doomed from the word go when the government chose to ignore the economic status of the population. At that particular time, the numbers were quite glaring in terms economic differences. There was a 25 percent poverty rate recorded in the period. With the funding for the project expected to come from the tax and other public collections, the amounts collected could not meet the demand. In order to implement the system successfully, the economic aspect of the public should be catered for (Barbara, Mack and Steffen 50).

In addition, when the system was introduced, there was an increase in the demand for healthcare services. This is known as moral hazard in healthcare (Budrys 51). It comes about when there is increased demand in healthcare services just because the services are free. With time, the heath system becomes overloaded until it collapses if measures to control the increases are not taken. Therefore, establishing a viable cost effective model for the public would prove to be quite heartaches (Carole and Carol 23).

Benefits of the system

To start with, every individual in the country that is considered a citizen will be covered under a united national medical/ health care system. This would drastically reduce the cost of acquiring healthcare services for all. Studies show that the cost of medical care has reduced by over two billion dollars since the year 1999 because of the initial universal healthcare system implementation that failed. This shows that if implemented properly, then the costs can be reduced by almost 50 percent (Budrys 70).

In addition, by default it is cheaper to administer a healthcare program by use of tax system. With the already set systems, the government can quite easily collect the relevant funds through the already set mechanisms. A report on State Healthcare released in 1992 showed that use of the taxes to finance healthcare showed that a whopping 2 billion could have been saved if the system is well implemented and managed (Barbara, Mack and Steffen 87). Through a nationwide program, purchase of medical supplies in bulk greatly cuts down the cost. In addition, employment work force through nationwide mechanisms will ensure that only the most qualified personnel will be employed at minimum cost. The distributional effects of such systems can also be noted.

Shortcomings of the system

The system is not without its shortfalls. The greatest problem lies with coming up with a working model that is both efficient an economically viable. Previous attempts, such as the one introduced by the Clinton administration, generally came down to their knees because the cost did surpass the benefits. According to subsequent studies on the model, the fact that people practically did not pay for the services the costs were soon above and over the expected benefits.

Conclusion

There are different schools of thought as pertains to the problems that ail the American health system in the attempt to implement a universal health care system. While some may argue that the underlying problem is as a result of it being too expensive, others believe that the problem is the wastefulness of the whole system. However, they all do agree that the benefits of the system do override the problems that may be associated with it. It is therefore imperative that the government and all related bodies do all they can to implement the system.

Works cited

 

Barbara A. Bardes, Mack C. Shelley and Steffen W. Schmidt. American Government & Politics   Today: The Essentials. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2008. Print.

Budrys, Grace. Our unsystematic health care system. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.     Print.

Carole Lium Edelman and Carol Lynn Mandle. Health promotion throughout the life span.            Elsevier Health Sciences, 2005. Print.

Derickson, Alan. Health security for all: dreams of universal health care in America. Baltimore:    JHU Press, 2005. Print.