Question

Based on your independent knowledge of various issues related to health insurance coverage in the U.S. (news articles, etc), what do you believe are the biggest challenges facing the current U.S. healthcare delivery system?

Answer 1

The biggest challenges facing the current U.S. healthcare delivery system

The key challenges that the current US health care delivery system face includes a gap in demand and supply. The demand for health care is increasing as the older population increases and the number of chronic diseases becomes more common. The dependence on medical technology is also increasing.   This consequently leads to a decrease in the supply of the health care providers especially the nurses and the physicians. The health care regulators and the patients are more concerned about the quality of health care as there is a substantial fall in the quality of health care provided.

Some of the challenges are as follows:

• Too much health care is provided: Overuse and unnecessary care accounts contribute to 1/3^rd to ½ of the total of health care costs. It amounts to billions of dollars. In addition, half a trillion is attributed due to loss of productivity and disability.
• Negligence in health care: The risks in health care deliverance are impacting health care extensively. One in four patients suffers some form of harm during their stay.
• Waste of health care expenses: a study indicates that a third of the health costs are wasted.
• Incentive-based health care facility: Medicare and Medicaid pay the providers for all the healthcare. The payout is made without analyzing if the patient really benefitted from the treatment. There are many unnecessary admissions just to benefit the hospital and its financial targets.
• Lack of transparency: Lastly there is a lack of information as to which is the best hospital to visit for which life-saving treatment. The analysis of luxury products is far more easily available then the details and statistics of health care providers.

To conclude the challenge to US health care delivery system is to avoid rewarding wrong care, and to demand transparency where required.