Introduction
The high cost of healthcare in the United States of America is well known. In fact, medical debt is “one of the main causes of bankruptcy, poverty, and homelessness” in the United States (Cancarevic et al., 2021, p. 45). Due to a lack of insurance or inadequate insurance, the high expense of medical operations in the United States, the lack of services, or lengthy waiting lists for surgery, some citizens opt to travel abroad for medical treatment (Collins et al., 2019). Prescription drug costs, the complexity of the healthcare system, and the lack of universal healthcare coverage can all be pinpointed as the major contributors to the high cost of healthcare in the United States.
Discussion
The biggest factor contributing to the high cost of healthcare in the US is the absence of universal healthcare coverage. Not every citizen of the United States has access to healthcare, in contrast to other nations where all citizens are assured access through nationalized insurance plans (Cancarevic et al., 2021). Instead, the American healthcare system includes a wide range of various insurance companies, hospitals, and other healthcare providers (Cancarevic et al., 2021). Being private corporations, these institutions are often primarily concerned with their profits rather than the well-being of the citizens of the United States (Dyck, 2019). Therefore, a citizen’s access to healthcare often largely depends on their income.
Moreover, the sheer complexity of the healthcare system in the United States tends to lead to inefficiencies and waste that drive up the overall cost. Namely, it is estimated that between $760 billion and $935 billion, or about 25% of total healthcare spending, is lost due to inefficiency in the American healthcare system (Shrank et al., 2019). In addition to failures of care delivery, coordination, and “overtreatment or low-value care” administrative complexity has been highlighted as the system component causing the most waste (Shrank et al., 2019, p. 2). Therefore, the complexity of the healthcare system is a key factor that contributes to the high cost of healthcare in the United States.
Finally, one of the main reasons why healthcare is so expensive in the United States is the high cost of prescription drugs. This is driven by the fact that the pharmaceutical industry in the United States lacks regulation (Rajkumar, 2020). This means that drug companies are able to set their own prices without any kind of oversight or regulation, often leading to them monopolizing the market entirely (Rajkumar, 2020). Additionally, the majority of pharmaceuticals sold in the United States are protected by patents, and on average, the cost of patented drugs in the United States is 50% higher than the cost of identical drugs in the main industrialized nations (Dyck, 2019). The combination of monopolization and high pricing often leads to certain groups losing access to the particular medications they need without any available alternatives.
Conclusion
Overall, there are numerous complicated issues that contribute to the high cost of healthcare in the United States. The system’s general inefficiency can be cited as the primary cause of the issue. Additionally, the absence of governmental processes and restrictions frequently results in exorbitant insurance and drug costs. The complexity of the healthcare system, the high cost of prescription pharmaceuticals, and the absence of universal healthcare coverage are all significant issues that could contribute to the affordability of healthcare.
References
Cancarevic, I., Plichtová, L., & Malik, B. H. (2021). Healthcare systems around the world. In Tohid, H., & H. Maibach (Eds.), International medical graduates in the United States (pp. 45–79). Springer. Web.
Collins, A., Medhekar, A., Wong, H. Y., & Cobanoglu, C. (2019). Factors influencing outbound medical travel from the USA. Tourism Review, 74(3), 463-479. Web.
Dyck, A. J. (2019). Achieving justice in the U.S. healthcare system. Springer.
Rajkumar, V. S. (2020). The high cost of prescription drugs: causes and solutions. Blood Cancer J, 10, 1-5. Web.
Shrank, W. H., Rogstad, T. L., & Parekh, N. (2019). Waste in the US health care system. JAMA, 322(15), 1-9. Web.