DP hsck

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Please respond to below discussion a minimum of 150 words. All postings must provide details, statistics, and ideas, be analytical, integrate theory, research, and/or professional experience, specific examples and/or substantiating evidence, and in-text citations supported with a minimum of 1 reference(s) from peer-reviewed journals within the last 3 to 5 years. Please follow APA guidelines.

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Build upon discussion by providing additional details, statistics, ideas, personal perspectives, or links to interesting, relevant articles.

Conclude the response with a question or new idea to further stimulate the discussion.

Please respond to below discussion in blue, using the above instructions:

After watching the video on American Versus the World, I learned a lot about the healthcare systems of both the United States and other nations. Currently, the United States is the only wealthy industrialized country that has not attained universal health coverage. Our current health care system is unaffordable, inefficient, and inaccessible to a large portion of the population. Many Americans struggle to afford health insurance, and even those who are insured face financial barriers to receiving care (Crowley et al., 2020). Even insurance through employment has become more expensive with more higher deductibles and reduced benefits. It is important that we address these disparities to ensure everyone has equal opportunities for quality healthcare without experiencing financial burdens. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), was a huge step in providing affordable health insurance and led to historic reductions of the uninsured, but still nearly 30 million remain uninsured and millions more underinsured, and number of uninsured expected to increase (Crowley et al., 2020).

          In America, the healthcare system consists of a mix of public and private insurance. In contrast, a single-payer system is characterized by central authority, usually the government, and all have the same access to the same services and providers are paid the same for the same service (Markowitz & McLeod-Sordjan, 2021). Denmark, Sweden, Australia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Canada are examples of 12 high income countries with single payer health care. Systems of universal coverage differ, using combination of premium payments, taxes, and cost sharing, with private health insurance having a role (Markowitz & McLeod-Sordjan, 2021). Compared to these other countries, United States spent almost twice the average among the 12 nations, with the poorest health outcomes including lower life expectancy, higher suicide rates, greater chronic diseases, more preventable hospitalizations, and higher rate of avoidable deaths (Markowitz & McLeod-Sordjan, 2021).

          As a healthcare worker, it is disheartening to see that the American health system is not up to par with the other countries when it comes to disease management and preventative medicine. Our healthcare system is divided among healthcare providers, insurance companies, and government agencies, causing lack of communication and limited coordination which in turn becomes more challenging to effectively manage diseases and provide the best care. Also, because the U.S. is money driven, people who cannot afford insurance or have cheaper insurance cannot get the best care they need, resulting in poorer health outcomes. Being in the healthcare field, we play an important role in advocating for improvements in disease management and preventative medicine. We can contribute to a better healthcare system by providing patient education, promoting preventive screening, and advocating for affordable healthcare access.

-CK