U.s. Healthcare System : The United States

Healthcare in the United States is a constant struggle. For generations the country has been in heated debate over the best approach to this unsettling issue. While many changes have been made, none seem to be effective enough to please and serve the country effectively. No matter what course is taken there is always a group, or groups of individuals who are left out and underserved. As a country we need to provide for all of our citizens to ensure healthy living and overall quality of life. Unfortunately, our society is based off of socioeconomic class. This becomes an issue in regards to healthcare requirements due to the fact that many poverty stricken families go throughout their lives with little or no coverage at all. For those in good financial standing healthcare is easily accessible, while the poor struggle and deal with illness in inhumane ways. Millions of American citizens are uninsured; this number includes all walks of life from children through the elderly. In order to overcome this devastating issue the American people have to come to a decision on how to care for all of our citizens so that no one is left out. In today’s society this has become an even more difficult task as we face an ongoing struggle within our economy, leaving many families in financial hardship.

The cost of healthcare has and will continue to rise in the United States. Some factors that contribute to those hikes are due to the consumer demanding more complex services from health care providers. Things such as new technology, equipment, research and testing procedures, along with pharmacy, and the number of uninsured are all dynamics of the increased cost in health care. The U.S. health care system relies heavily on third-party payers; these payers include commercial insurers and the Federal and state governments. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, the National Health Expenditure grew 3.6% to $2.9 trillion in 2013, or $9,255 per person, and accounted for 17.4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Id.

The US health care system is can be difficult to understand since “many parts of the system are run by hundreds of individual organizations, including the government, nonprofit, and for profit enterprises (Understanding the US Healthcare system, 2015). Breaking down the US health care system into different parts will make it easier to understand, while showing the pros and cons, and how it impacts the role of nurses. Formally, I will do the same to Norway’s health care system and spot the similarities or differences with how each one is being run.

In the United States, coverage and reimbursement of prescription drugs are the responsibility of both public and private payers, as opposed to European countries where coverage and reimbursement typically occurs through publicly financed national healthcare systems. CMS, the largest public payer, provides coverage for the vast majority of prescription drugs once they earn approval from the FDA. Prior to making coverage decisions, European jurisdictions typically require that high-risk, innovative, or costly devices undergo a health technology assessment.

Has the introduction of the Affordable Care Act “Obama Care” made the Health Care System in the United States better or worse? Please provide evidence, statistics, information, argument to support your answer. In your answer, please address the following issues in the Health Care System of the United States:

The world as we know it has changed drastically in the past three decades, we are slowly but surely morphing into a worldwide community dependent upon computer technology. More specifically we rely on the Internet heavily for everything in our day to day lives. The benefits of expediency and the convenience afforded to those who utilize information systems their business dynamics is undeniable.

The U.S health care system, in 2012, cost around 2.6 trillion dollars and is expected to rise to about 4.8 trillion dollars in 2021, if nothing is done to repair the issue. To further illustrate, America is the only wealthy and industrialized country in the world to not have universal health care. Yet, many still believe that the United States may become a communist nation if health care is provided to all. They still believe that it will perhaps send it into an economical crisis. However, the national government should provide universal healthcare, because it is a basic human right, tens of millions of Americans have been left uninsured, and it is a vital part for the recovery of the economy.

The United States health care system may be unique in being a true melting pot of cultures, ethnicities, and races. Health care and maintenance of one’s health is a necessity of life, regardless of ethnic, social, or cultural background. The cultural landscape of America is a constantly changing as evidenced by some projections stating by the year 2045 that non-Hispanic Caucasians will represent less than 50% of the U.S. population for the first time (Alba, 2015). However, this estimate may actually be inaccurate due to the numerous American families that already incorporate multiple racial, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. Nurse anesthetists that provide anesthesia for surgery are exposed to a myriad of cultures and all the differences that come with them. These many differences may affect how an anesthetist interacts with their patients, may cause a simple procedure to become a more challenging one, or it may also affect an anesthetist own beliefs and how that approach a case.

Health care systems are organizations that are formed to meet the overall health needs of the population. Health care is regarded as one of the leading cause in promoting not only physical and mental health but the well-being of the population. Legislation is implemented requiring government to offer services to all members of its society. The role of health services and the organizations that provide aid is to focus on the health of an individual and to uphold their human rights. According to WHO (2013), a “well-functioning health care system requires a robust financing mechanism, a well-trained and adequately-paid workforce, reliable information on which to base decisions and policies, and well maintained facilities and logistics to deliver quality medicines and technologies (World Health Organization; 2013).

The United States’ healthcare system is not easy to define. It is a complex, decentralized, market-based system with multiple stakeholders. In this paper we will try our best to discuss the organization, financing, and delivery of the American healthcare system, as well as identify respective flaws. We will conclude this paper with a discussion on potential solutions to the flaws we have identified.

Briefly describe the US Health Care system. Identify the people, professionals and organizations that have something to say about how health care is delivered -- and paid for -- in the US.

In the United States, health care is considered a market compared to the National Health Insurance (NHI) System in Taiwan. In the U.S. health care is seen as a privilege in accordance with the lack of universal coverage. The U.S. also has the most expensive health care system in the world, yet when assessing performance compared to other countries, they consistently fall short; the U.S. has failed to achieve better health outcomes than other countries and is last or near last on dimensions of access, efficiency, and equity (Davis, Stemikis, Squires & Schoen, 2014). According to Palfreman and Reid (2008) in the film “Sick Around the World”, Taiwan has the lowest health care average costs paid by families per year.

The U.S. health care system faces challenges and it is urgent that the American people become aware of these challenges. There are approximately 46 million Americans who are uninsured, and many insured Americans who face rapid increases in premiums have to pay out-of-pocket costs. As Congress and the Obama administration consider ways to invest new funds to reduce the number of Americans without insurance coverage, people must address shortfalls in the quality and efficiency of care that lead to higher costs and to poor health outcomes. If something is not done soon, there will be many more who will not have health care coverage that is affordable or they will be without coverage altogether.

Key messages: every country does their effort to make their citizen healthy and productive. In order to make citizen healthy, there should be enough health care workers to meet the increasing healthcare demands. Nowadays, not only in the USA but also all over the world facing nurse shortages which make difficult to provide appropriate health care to their citizens. Therefore, the Robert wood Johnson foundation and institute of medicine collaborate together and conducted the two-year long research aiming to find the solution of the problem and ways to reform the health care in order to provide quality and affordable care. In 2010, their report came out as a “ Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health”. In this report the

The health care system within the United States is facing numerous problems. Even after the passing of the Affordable Care Act many Americans remain uninsured or underinsured. This results in citizens facing financial blockades in receiving care at a primary level and often waiting till the health issue has escalated to the point of needing hospitalization before seeking care. While each state has had challenges expanding their health care system the board of Access Health Care Initiative (AHCI) has chosen the state of Pennsylvania as a target region for possible expansion. The question posed by the board of directors is would it be possible for AHCI to expand into Pennsylvania and have a positive effect on the state’s health care system. The research has shown that it would be possible for AHCI to expand into Pennsylvania and help the state meet the health care needs of its residents. However this expansion will take careful planning and the ability to overcome some unique problems that Pennsylvania poses.