Major health care issue in the united states
The United States has long been plagued with the issue of limited health care availability in the country. To date, there are currently 45 million US residents without health insurance, with most of these individuals not availing preventive health care for maintenance, as well as reduction of future health care costs. The deterioration of the health care system is mostly due to the uncoordinated assembly of government programs, employer-funded care and private health insurance (Emanuel, 2007). Physician payment systems in the US are not as efficient as expected, leading to fluctuations in the volume of services physicians or providers offered. Such settings affect the end user—the patient. Access to health care services in the US is perceived as a privilege instead of a right, because the levels of health care are disparate in different areas in the US. More importantly, the prices of prescriptions drugs are quite expensive that other individuals would opt not to take medications unless obviously needed. As compared to the health care systems in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Germany, the United States ranks the poorest in terms of quality, access and efficiency. It has been determined that citizens of the United States spend twice as much money for health care as compared to the individuals from the 5 previously named countries.
Other important details on US health care include infant and senior health care, as well as waiting time for emergency room attention and elective, non-emergency surgery. In order to end this crisis, Congress is currently reviewing the structure and organization of the health care system of the US, so that very soon, every American will have access to health care, regardless of income, employment status, or race.
Reference
Emanuel, E.J. (2007): What cannot be said on television about health care. JAMA 297(19):2131-2133.