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. a 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/NationalHealthAccountsHistori
cal
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/health-
spending-u-s-compare-countries-2/
