Question

Studies indicate that variations in spending on health care are related to per capita national income levels, not entirely the health care needs of individuals. This finding is true across nations depending upon average level of income, or within nations, depending upon level of economic activity. Health care spending is lower in recessionary times and higher in times of robust business activity.

In other words, wealthy nations typically will spend fewer dollars, not only in total, but as a percentage of income in times of economic downturns or recessions, and larger sums in times of higher output and incomes. Research has also shown that health outcomes are not necessarily linked to the quantity of health care purchased.

However, the United States is a huge outlier in terms of cost relative to population health. Global health care travel is a private option that the wealthy in many countries use. Looking at the public and private options in different nations, discuss how reforms proposed for the United States may impact consumer and government spending on health care, availability of health care and perceived value of health care.

Answer 1

The U.S. health care system is unique among advanced industrialized countries. The U.S. does not have a uniform health system, has no universal health care coverage, and only recently enacted legislation mandating healthcare coverage for almost everyone. 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. In 2014, 48 percent of U.S. health care spending came from private funds, with 28 percent coming from households and 20 percent coming from private businesses. The federal government accounted for 28 percent of spending while state and local governments accounted for 17 percent. Most health care, even if publicly financed, is delivered privately. Despite US legislation in 2010 that moved the country closer to achieving universal healthcare, costs have continued to rise and nearly 26 million Americans are still uninsured according to the Congressional Budget Office. Although we see lot's of space for improvement in US health care system but history has shown how health care system has evolved a lot in US. Foundation of 100 years of science that have massively improved our understanding of the human organism in health and disease and given us thousands of ways to improve the wellbeing and life expectancy of patients.

In March, 2010, President Obama signed the ACA into law that made hundreds of significant changes to the U.S. healthcare system between 2011 and 2014. Provisions included in the ACA are intended to expand access to healthcare coverage, increase consumer protections, emphasizes prevention and wellness, and promote evidence- based treatment and administrative efficiency in an attempt to curb rising healthcare costs.U.S. health care specialists are among the best in the world. However, treatment in the U.S. is inequitable, overspecialized, and neglects primary and preventative care. The end result of the U.S. approach to health care is poorer health in comparison to other advanced industrialized nations. According to the Commonwealth Fund Commission, in a 2014 comparison with Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K., the U.S. ranked last overall. In terms of quality of care, the U.S. ranked fifth, but came in last place in efficiency, equity, and healthiness of citizens’ lives.Comparing other health care indicators in an international context underscores the dysfunction of the U.S. health care system.Life expectancy in the US is still lower than other developed countries, despite health funding increasing at a much faster pace. Talking about ht consumer of health care system, More than twice as many exchange consumers report using online information sources to shop for a policy than the average consumer, including those with employer coverage. More than half (53%) of exchange consumers are satisfied with their health plan overall. However,  high administrative costs are a contributing factor to the inflated costs of U.S. health care. The U.S. leads all other industrialized countries in the share of national health care expenditures devoted to insurance administration. It is difficult to determine the exact differences between public and private administrative costs, in part because the definition of “administrative” varies widely.

Donald Trump ran on a campaign to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, but discord among Republicans has highlighted the political challenges faced with implementing a healthcare system, much less trying to change it. With millions still uninsured and the financial burden of healthcare still quite high, the current US policy falls short of the WHO threshold. Thus far, separate bills introduced in the House and the Senate were estimated to see steep increases in the number of uninsured from current levels.