Question

What features could be beneficial to our own healthcare system in the U.S. and why? What are the tradeoffs structurally and financially? Who benefits the most? The least if they were to be implemented in the U.S.?

Answer 1

Introduction

The health sector in the United States is characterised by a mix of public and private funding and provision; as such, it is not governed by a single philosophy. In both the private and public sectors, medical services are generally regarded as high quality although the system is not without its problems. In 2010 the Obama administration tried to address some of these problems with the Affordable Care Act ), which has gone some way towards introducing universal medical care coverage in America. This report will seek to detail the current US healthcare system and the way in which the Act is designed to change it. These reforms are now likely to go ahead to full implementation following the decision of the US Supreme Court in June 2012 to uphold their constitutionality and the re-election of President Barack Obama and a proACA majority in the US Senate in the November 2012 elections, as these events have largely removed the previous possibility that the reforms would be repealed. The report will go on to explore the benefits that the US healthcare system brings to its population as well as the difficulties it faces with a view to identifying any lessons that might be pertinent to the NHS.The U.S. health care system is a complex mix of public and private programs. Most Americans who have health care insurance have an employer-sponsored plan. But the federal government insures the poor and elderly (Medicare) as well as veterans and federal employees and Congressmen

The U.S. health care system is unique among advanced industrialized countries.Rather than operating a national health service, a single-payer national health insurance system, or a multi-payer universal health insurance fund, the U.S. health care system can best be described as a hybrid system.One advantage of the current healthcare system in the U.S. is we have one of the best medical research systems of the world. Another one is it available to everyone. One disadvantage of the current healthcare system in the U.S. is the cost and quality is unequal and very expensive.

Benefits o health care system

• Most preemptive cancer screening. ...
• Highest rate of cancer survival. ...
• Best treatment of chronic disease. ...
• Most identification and treatment of psychological disease. ...
• Most advanced equipment per capita. ...
• Highest pay attracts the best doctors. ...
• Most advanced research.

ORGANIZATION OF U.S. HEALTH CARE SYSTEM As with all other countries, there are both private and public insurers in the U.S. health care system. What is unique about the U.S. system in the world is the dominance of the private element over the public element. In 2003, 62% of non-elderly Americans received private employer-sponsored insurance, and 5% purchased insurance on the private non group (individual) market. 15% were enrolled in public insurance programs like Medicaid, and 18% were uninsured. Elderly individuals aged 65 or over are almost uniformly enrolled in Medicare.

THE U.S. HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

Health spending and financing The United States spent 15% of its GDP on health care in 2003, the highest percentage in the OECD (an organization of industrialized countries). The public sector is the main source of health funding in all OECD countries, except for the United States, Mexico and Korea. In the United States, 44% of health spending is funded by government revenues, well below the average of 72% in OECD countries. In the United States, private insurance accounts for 37% of total health spending, by far the largest share among OECD countries. Canada, France, and the Netherlands also have a relatively large share of funding coming from private insurance Resources in the health sector (

• In 2002, the United States had 2.3 practicing physicians per 1000 population, below the OECD average of 2.9 per 1000 population.

• There were 7.9 nurses per 1000 population in the United States in 2002, below the OECD average of 8.2 per 1000 population.

• The number of acute care hospital beds in the United States in 2003 was 2.8 per 1000 population, below the OECD average of 4.1 beds per 1000 population. Health status and risk factors Most OECD countries have enjoyed large gains in life expectancy over the past 40 years. In the United States,