The U.S. spends a considerable amount on healthcare than other
countries without seeing improvements in patient outcomes. How is
that possible? Health care costs directly hurt those without
insurance, while those who are insured must pay co-payments,
deductibles, and employee contributions. Health costs also affect
federal and state governments, which pay for Medicare and
Medicaid. Governments must collect more taxes; provide less of
something else. (Wager, Ortaliza & Cox, 2022). On average the
average young family in the U.S. spends $8,200 per year, or 11% of
their income, on health care – not including employer contributions –
but if someone in the family becomes ill the health spending increase
to 15% of the family income. U.S. health care spending grew 9.7
percent in 2020, reaching $4.1 trillion or $12,530 per person. As a
share of the nation's Gross Domestic Product, health spending
accounted for 19.7 percent. (CMS,2021).
A large majority of blacks and Hispanics (85% and 84%) say the
government should be responsible for coverage, while non-Hispanic
whites are split on the issue (49% agree, 49% disagree). And while
about three-quarters of those with family incomes of less than
$30,000 per year (74%) say the government should ensure coverage,
only about half (53%) of those with incomes of $75,000 or higher say
the same. (Balik, 2017) The majority of people stating the
government should ensure coverage, are the ones who need it most
and are more prone to chronic illness. Lower-income families do not
have the ability to obtain insurance through their employers and at
times make too much to be covered by Medicaid. Healthcare reforms
were supposed to aid with the cost of healthcare, however with the
cost of healthcare continuing to rise, how can people really afford
health coverage.
Preventative care has become an important topic with healthcare,
insurance carriers, and healthcare agencies. With preventative care,
health expenditures can significantly decrease by preventing
admissions into hospitals and utilizing emergency care resources.
People who do not have access to preventative care will use the
emergency room as their primary source of health management. Thus
further driving the cost of healthcare for all tax payers.
Reference:
Balik, K. (2017) More Americans say government should ensure
health care coverage Website: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-
tank/2017/01/13/more-americans-say-government-should-ensure-
health-care-coverage/
CMS (2021) Historical Website: https://www.cms.gov/Research-
Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/
NationalHealthExpendData/NationalHealthAccountsHistorical
Wager, E., Ortaliza, J. & Cox, C. (2022) How does health spending in
the U.S. compare to other countries?
Website: https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/heal
th-spending-u-s-compare-countries-2/
