The American healthcare system is structured differently than healthcare systems in other countries.
One of the main differences is that America does not have free health care for its citizens. However, the question of whether this system should be challenged has recently been the subject of debate.
Statistics about America’s performance compared to other countries that provide free health care. The impact of health insurance providers on the care provided. And the seeming greed of those health care providers — I believe health care should be free and accessible to all Americans.
It is unfair to force citizens to find ways to provide their own health care because access to resources varies based on household income.
The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation that aims to promote “high-performing health systems that deliver better access, improved quality and increased efficiency, especially for society’s most vulnerable people.” It highlights the impact of a lack of equitable access to quality health care. Care.
A 2021 Commonwealth Fund report found that, “Compared to other countries, the United States has lower maternal mortality rates, infant mortality rates, life expectancy at age 60, and lower rates of preventable mortality with timely access to effective health care.” “The performance of sexual deaths is poor.”
This report highlights the negative impacts of the current health care system by revealing high preventable mortality rates that can be attributed to ineffective or inadequate health care.
The lack of accessible healthcare essentially limits the value of a human life to the amount paid to health insurance institutions. Therefore, not all citizens are equally protected, and some may die needlessly simply because their household income is not sufficient to provide quality health care.
Lack of affordable health care also reduces the quality of health care outcomes. The Commonwealth Fund touches on this aspect of American health care compared to countries where health care is free, stating that “(the United States’) performance is well below the average for other countries, and ranks just above it. We are way below countries: Switzerland and Canada.”
The impact of not having access to free healthcare sets us apart, and not in a good way.
So if private healthcare is not benefiting the public, who is it benefiting? Research shows that insurance agents and third-party providers are the primary, if not the only, beneficiaries of this health care system.
Neeraj Sood from the University of Southern California investigated who exactly benefits from this system. His recent column in The Economist says: Critics say the big players (pharmacy benefit managers) don’t pass on discounts to health plans, instead keeping much of the difference for themselves, limiting access to treatments that don’t benefit them much. The house is making a statement.”
This study reveals how some providers within the health system are making money by increasing profits by reducing spending.
This approach increases the likelihood that some government agencies will not fund necessary medical procedures, medications, etc. in order to obtain extra money. As a result, health systems become dependent on business factors and profits, when their focus should be on helping patients and providing care to those in need.
Between the greed of insurance agents and the clear gulf in the quality of American health care compared to other countries that provide free health care, continuing down the path of this complex and inefficient system is failing the American people. It will only hurt you.
Maggie Poole is an 11th grader at Solanco High School.
