Although America is one of the world’s most developed countries, its health care system has a significant number of deficiencies. It ranks almost in the last place among other high-income countries in many respects. According to Schneider et al. (2017), this is caused by a lack of universal health insurance coverage, time-consuming billing, and inadequate education. In my opinion, financial difficulties are crucial, as they make medicine less accessible and, therefore, ineffective. To address this problem, policy on insurance and health care delivery should be reviewed.
Many people are concerned about the problems of American health care and are trying to bring them to public attention. For example, Müllenbeck (TEDx Talks, 2017) argues that doctors not only treat patients but also offer them something to earn more, which can benefit them, but not the patients. Thus, doctors should be relieved of the need to look for additional income, so that they are entirely focused on the treatment process. According to Sammur (TEDx Talks, 2018), the health care system is inaccessible to many segments of the population, negatively affecting the quality of life. However, people should prefer quality over quantity, since life is finite and it is essential to live it fully and efficiently.
In my opinion, many other developed countries pay much more attention to the welfare of their citizens. In addition, some of them have a much smaller population than the United States, making it easier to establish a health care system. The governments of these countries are aware that they can receive income in other ways, so they are ready to take care of citizens regardless of their ability to pay. To achieve the same prosperity, the United States needs to rethink its insurance details and financial regulations in this area. In my opinion, this will be quite difficult, since many parts of America’s health care system are now in poor condition. However, this is achievable with due scrutiny from society and the government.
References
Müllenbeck, M. (2017). What if we paid doctors to keep people healthy? [Video]. TED. Web.
Sammour, T. (2018). Healthcare: Is it a right or a luxury? [Video]. TED. Web.
Schneider, E.C., Sarnak, D. O, Squires, D., Shah, A., & Doty, M. M. (2017). International comparison reflections flaws and opportunities for better U.S. health care. Mirror, Mirror. Web.