Introduction
The health care system in the US is a complex structure. It is also one of the most developed infrastructures in the world. Still, a considerable number of people work hard every day in order to make it even more advanced. However, administrative officials and professionals face quite a lot of challenges that require coming up with the right decisions. One of such concerns is the difficulty to find the right decision in making health care affordable taking into consideration the high expenses associated with it.
Reasons for High Costs in Health Care
To begin with, it is crucial to understand why it is so costly to receive proper treatment in the US. According to Papanicolas, Woskie, and Jha (2018), US citizens tend to spend more than people who live in other first-world countries. In 2016, the country allocated 17.8% of its gross domestic product to funding the medical system. One explanation for this fact is that progress requires substantial expenses from the government. Nowadays, technologies are developing rapidly, and, therefore, this process is boosting scientific innovations. One of them is the advancing of nanotechnologies, which allow treating serious illnesses and diseases that were impossible to overcome in earlier years. Parhizkar, Mahalingam, Homer-Vanniasinkam, and Edirisinghe (2018) state, “in particular, the birth of new disciplines such as tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, and nanomedicine, is making positive contributions in this [health care] sphere” (p. 7). Thus, using nanotechnologies greatly affects the increase in prices.
Difficulties in Funds Allocation
The other factor that is definitely important to consider is that people often have to purchase expensive medications. Even though today there are a lot of pharmaceutical companies that offer a wide variety of medications, doctors might not consider all of the options and recommend their patients to buy pricey treatments. That might happen due to the lack of knowledge and difficulties to evaluate all available products. Callaghan et al. (2019) argue that the use of neurologic medications contributes to the increase in out-of-pocket costs, and in order to minimize it, medical professionals need to be aware of the financial expenses associated with the treatment they choose. Thus, the administrative branches have to make sure they provide enough reliable data and information for physicians and therapists.
Apart from scientific research and progress, the health care system includes highly qualified human resources. In order to become a doctor, an individual has to spend at least nine years of school. It might be not an easy task to afford that kind of education as the average price for tuition might reach $50,000. It is also essential to keep in mind the number of obligations people of this profession have. Delbon (2018) examines the Author review Law No. 219/2017, which emphasizes the requirements a competent doctor should meet, and it also reminds about serious professional responsibility. Therefore, becoming a well-prepared professional and spending so much time and money time on education should be paid off.
All the points mentioned above show that the government faces a necessity to allocate a substantial amount of resources to the industry. At the same time, there is a continuing dispute about how to make access to medical care more affordable. The government is continuously trying to come up with the most effective solution for this problem. In 2010, President Barak Obama enacted The Affordable Care Act (ACA), and this program had tremendous success. Levitt, Claxton, Damico, and Cox (2016) say that approximately 12.7 million people were able to receive health insurance in the marketplaces. However, it seems that under the current presidency of Donald Trump, the implementation of successful health care programs is lower. Sommers, Kathryn, and Arnold (2018) claim that in 2017, the number of uninsured people is 1.3 percentage points higher than in 2016. Mainly, the communities are not satisfied with the American Health Care Act of 2017 because it made significant changes to insurance coverage. Under that plan, companies are no longer penalized for not providing coverage for the employees and, moreover, they will no longer support workers with pre-existing conditions. The main issue is that a lot of people highly depend on their health plans provided by employers. Therefore, for those who have serious diseases losing financial support might have a lethal outcome, as they will have to pay for it out-of-pocket. Pre-existing conditions are often life-long, so individuals will most likely have to earn more in order to survive.
On the one hand, the officials are trying to cut expenses and manage country funds, but, on the other hand, they face a serious ethical problem. The government has to continue looking for the proper solution to make the right decision. Last but not least, low-income people might often be not educated well, so they are left with a decision-making process on how to manage their health care plans. Therefore, the administrative officials should allocate some resources in educating the population about their options, so citizens can learn how to manage their budget better.
Conclusion
To conclude, coming to the best decision of how to make medical care as affordable as possible is an ongoing process. In order to remain on top of the rank, the health care system demands a substantial investment of funds. At the same time, a lot of humans cannot get access to the developed services. To improve the situation, the officials have to think about the most suitable way to allocate resources.
References
Callaghan B. C., Reynolds E., Banerjee M., Kerber K. A., Skolarus L. E., Magliocco B., … James F. Burke. (2019). Out-of-pocket costs are on the rise for commonly prescribed neurologic medications. Neurology, 92 (22) e2604-e2613.
Delbon, P. (2018). The protection of health in the care and trust relationship between doctor and patient: Competence, professional autonomy and responsibility of the doctor and decision-making autonomy of the patient. Journal of Public Health Research, 7(3).
Levitt, L., Claxton, G., Damico, A., & Cox, C. (2016). Assessing ACA Marketplace Enrollment.
Papanicolas I, Woskie L. R., Jha A. K. (2018). Health Care Spending in the United States and Other High-Income Countries. JAMA, 319(10), 1024-1039. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.1150
Parhizkar, M., Mahalingam, S., Homer-Vanniasinkam, S., & Edirisinghe, M. (2018). Latest developments in innovative manufacturing to combine nanotechnology with healthcare. Nanomedicine,13(1), 5-8.
Sommers, B. D., Clark, K. L., & Epstein, A. M. (2018). Early changes in health insurance coverage under the Trump administration. New England Journal of Medicine,378(11), 1061-1063. Web.