Custom «Problems in the U.S. Healthcare System» Essay Paper Sample

Literature review

There are a number of challenges that the health system of the United States has been facing. It has now been ten years since these problems were exemplified. It is normally common for people and organizations to experience problems once in a while, but the most important thing is the time that it takes for these problems to be solved with measures of remedy being executed. This likens to the situation that the US health care system has been undergoing for the last ten years. The premiums are rising at an alarming rate, there is a huge number of Americans who are not uninsured, and that there are numerous hassles by the American people and the medical professionals(Patel and  Rushefsky, 2006).

Within a short period of time, there are more challenges that are bound to occur. Even with the reduction of the health problems at the moment, there is more risk as concerns the way to maintain the young generation and the lifestyle that has been brought up with. The rising costs of commodities and the living standards will have particular effects on the business and the economy of the country at large. This research paper aims to exemplify the various problems that the US health system is facing and the particular solutions that can be involved to have them brought to control.

Research methodologies

As mentioned earlier, there are a number of problems that the American health care unit facing at the moment. First and foremost, this is the country where citizens spent more than they are able to earn within a specific period of time. As compared to any other country in the world, it is estimated that the United States of America spent the most of its per capita income. This spending is mainly that which is directed to the health units in the country. When the per capita income is divided among the citizens of the country, it is very less and cannot actually meet the needs of each and every citizen. The core issue here is the fact that many of the Americans do not have the insurance. They therefore are not in a position to make use of the health care system. When the country is compared to any other competitor, it is presumed to spend more than half of what the competitor spends (Kovner, et. al. 2008).  

The quality of any service is normally measured hand in hand with the kind of reward that is offered to the person who gives out these services. In the United States health system, the medical specialists are not paid duly as they are supposed to be compensated. The percentages of the practices of the primary care with the financial incentives are not linked properly. In other words, the doctors and other medical specialists are not paid according to the quality of services they are able to proffer to the people. When the country is compared with other nations of the same caliber, it scores very low in the compensation of its workers and especially the medical practitioners. For instance, in the United Kingdom, it compensates its workers 95% unlike in the United States which compensates only at the rate of 30%. This is a clear indication that the healthcare system of the country can even not make to be called a system. It is therefore quite clear that the country is very miserable in the compensation of its health workers (Cowles, 2003).

It is very rare to find for all the American people to be exposed to the daily care that they are supposed to get. Most Americans do not have appropriate time to attend to the medical doctors as the surgeons and dentists. Research shows that very few Americans are able to stand in wait for a doctor or chance to be attended to. For one to be attended, he or she has to be sometimes ready to wait for others to be dealt with first before being let in. This is the time period in which many are pound to leave and go for other activities. The treatment periods are therefore not kept with maximum accuracy as they are supposed to be. When we compare the country to other nations, it scores very low in the waiting times. This also translates to the very high rates of patients who skip medical checkups and treatments due to their inability to wait. It is the few individuals who are able to wait for their medical conditions to be attended to that accounts for the small percentage of those who promote the country in trying to keep the pace of the health care system (Holahan, 1990).

Many American people are not in a position to afford all the services that are offered by the medical professionals. This is because of the fact that most of these services are very expensive. Many patients and individuals have been identified to miss medical checkups, treatment, tests and follow-up recommendations by the doctors and other medical professionals. Research has shown that most of the Americans have problems when it comes to payment of the medical pills. Most of the people who are disadvantaged because of being in possession of very little are forced to wait for long before they are able to access medical attention. In most cases, these people fail to get medical care at all. It is normally critical when they have to wait to be attended for medical conditions as cancer. In this case, it is useless to wait as the health of the individual is pound to deteriorate with time. This is therefore another reason why these people are not able to wait for their medical cares. This makes their attendance rate to be zero (Sultz, and Young, 2010).

There is also the problem of service fragmentation. This is a state where the services provided are skewed to particular groups of people and others being left behind. This is some sort of discrimination but it is based on the abilities that people have as regards to access to the medical conditions. This is a clear indication that the health care system won't be able to improve till it will be able to attend to the needs of the people who have been sidelined because of their inability to access medical attentions. This case of fragmentation of services is brought out by the varying scales that people are in as regards to their amount of income. At some parts, there are quality services because of the ability of the people around that place. At other places, the services are very rare because of the inability of the people to purchase and maintain particular medical cares (SJonas, et. al. 2007).

Conflicts are almost present in every part of the world that encompasses human settings. Likewise in the American medical system, there are conflicts that are social and political in nature. The various conflicts that exist among the people have greatly affected the medical system in the provision of medical services to all of the American people. It is quite obvious that whenever there are conflicts, people won't be able to interact enough to an extent that the medical services and facilities will be accessible to all the people. The political standings that various groups of people have put themselves into have been the major obstacles to the spread of medical attentions to all people. In the various societies, people are not in good terms with one another. This is therefore the main reason why most of the Americans are not able to access the right and appropriate medical attentions (Institute of Medicine, 1990).

Research was done on the American country as concerns insurance of the people. According to that research, many American people are not insured. This is because of the fact that there is no universal coverage that will make people to get the right insurances to protect their lives. It is therefore very difficult for most of these people to access the right and timely medical care as they are suppose to be. As put by the American college of physicians and the American society of international medicine, many people who insured tend to live longer and healthier than people who are not, who live for short and are very weak in their living standards. There are other consequences that these people are likely to suffer. Hospitals and other health care takers will be forced to shift their costs for the sake of the tax payers, yet to those with private insurance.

According to the world health organization, the United States of America is ranked the lowest in the disability-adjusted life expectancy. This is when compared to other developed countries as Denmark and the United Kingdom. This is because of the unequal distribution of the disability-adjusted life expectancy. This is the case that affected the males a great deal. The main cause of this problem is the fact that many people are not able to access the basic medical necessities that they are suppose to get. There comes more years of disability due to the nature of the people not being able to access the preventive measures. This is actually the problem that is related to the largest population of the people in the country (Lemco, 1994).

There are issues with the financing of the health services in the United States of America. The kind of financing that is exemplified is actually unfair to the people of the land. The population does not receive an equal share of the financial contributions to the health units in the country. When the country is compared with other developed nations as Denmark and Germany, it is ranked low in its financial fairness as concerns health issues. This unfair system of financing has terminal consequences to the poor and those who are not insured including those who are underinsured. These will therefore automatically miss the real services of the government due to a wrong mode of distribution of finances to the health organs in the health system. In this case, as the poor continue to miss the medical services and attention, the rich are privately insured, thus are even not in use of the finances from the government.

There are various ways through which these problems can be solved. These problems can be categorized to fall under those concerned with high costs of medical products and services, unfairness in the distribution of the government services, and effectiveness among the people and the medical personnel in trying to reach to high standards of health in the country. In the United States of America, there is the importation of the concept of single payer system. This is a system that is aimed to do away with most of the problems that are being experienced at the moment. These problems are those that concern costs, access to the medical care and fairness in the distribution of the finances and services to all organs of the health system (Patel and  Rushefsky, 2006).

The single payer system is to act on the rising cost of the medical services and commodities to the people. It will make sure that all the people are able to access the medical services at the right time and in the convenient place at the cheapest price possible. Moreover, the system will enable the country to carry out financial managements that will save on the wastage of the services and commodities that were directed to the people who actually had private insurance to health.

The single system is to act on the generating income or the nation indirectly from how it operates. As likened to the working of the system in Canada, the system is to enable the country to generate more money that will finance the system itself. So it will not force the economy of the country to be subjected to poverty and debt. This is due to the fact that there will be reduced costs of administration with an assured universal access to the medical facilities and health care and more so preventive treatment. The private insurers will still be safe to carry out their operations as they will be protected by this system of health. Moreover, the system will enable the people and the medical practitioners to enjoy their services together with the individuals that are being given medical care (Andersen, et. al.2007).

Moreover, there should be an introduction of the single payer system to ensure that the medical experts are well paid for their activities they offer to the people. In more detail, the system will enable each and every individual to be ready for medical care and also be willing to wait for the medical attention incase he or she has to do so.

The medical system needs to be expanded. This will enable it to serve all the population in a more direct and readily way. The program is supposed to be made public in order to reach many people of the country and thus enable them access the medical care that they may be in need of. The system will thus cover from the young to the elderly people. Moreover, the medical attention that people will get will be interesting and pleasing at all the time the individual is to get them (Harrington, et. al. 2004).

Moreover, the system will enable the individual people to get educated on the right methodologies of dealing with medical challenges that always come with life. As concerns being insured, an individual will get insurance that will enable him get access to the medical attention and services whenever he wants to. This will be fulfilled by the people will be educated on the issues that concern human health and the health system of the country at large.

In conclusion, the health system of the United States of America is undergoing problems that can be solved for the well-being of all the citizens of the nation. The solutions that are to be acquired are to serve the country in various ways.