Introduction
Health issues have continued to attract the attention of many people, especially lately when the human population seems to be facing more complicated health challenges daily. Certainly, these concerns from several analysts are of help to the improvement of measures applicable to addressing health challenges. Some issues of prime interest regarding healthcare affordability have been discussed by Paul Krugman and Wells, entitled The Health Care Crises and What to Do About It, and Health Care Special Issue: Creative Destruction by Jonathan Cohn. This paper presents an analysis, an evaluation, a debate, a critique, and a differentiation of the ideas presented in both articles for the benefit of arriving at a more comprehensive healthcare administration position.
A Review of ‘Health Care Crises and What to Do about It’
This article acknowledges the advancement in knowledge acquired lately towards healthcare economies and affirms that there is a lot of evidence that has been developed to analyze the workability and affordability of healthcare. Based on the evidence, it has become clear that some of the most significant challenges that the healthcare sector in the United States is facing currently have to do with fragmentation. There is an obvious addition of cost without a direct or indirect reflection in values as the government continues to shoulder the health bills of over half of the American population through continually failing health insurance schemes. Krugman & Wells (2006) argued that the adaptation of a Canadian single-payer system would give the government the opportunity to make available direct insurances and pay off better and more economical dividends in the United States. This system, the scholars believe, would have presented the chance for learning from what is known as the ‘integrated’ system, a similar scheme that has worked excellently well is the Veterans administration that allows for a direct provision of healthcare services and medical insurances.
Continual false disagreements have continued to rule the situation of the healthcare system in Washington, sadly. Particularly, Krugman & Wells (2006) argue that during Bush’s administration, there were influences from industry lobbyists, particularly, the people who represented drug companies. Resultantly, the administration went after policies that brought about increases in fragmentation whereby the system would benefit the uninsured. The article under review hence considers various reforms that have been put together in the United States in the hope of actualizing better healthcare systems.
A Review of ‘Health Care Special Issue: Creative Destruction’
Cohn (2007) presents a startling analysis of a health condition known as Parkinson’s disease – which happens to be a complication that degenerates into impairing both the speech and motor control, produces tremor and rigidity, and then ends up into a number of disabilities. This disease once affected certain Micheal Kinsle, and the treatment was carried out very successfully using a Deep-Brain Simulation (DBS). The use of Deep-Brain Simulation in treating Parkinson’s disease is a technology that has become very outstanding, although it gained approval for usage only 10 years ago. This tool, as it was used in treating Michael, is such that it made use of universal coverage which has been defined by the government health-support policies.
Like Krugman & Wells (2006), Cohn has also argued that the government’s achievement of universal coverage has always been through private plans instead of making the most effective usage of the singer-payer system. However, the article notes that the reliance on the government’s decision to intervene in the treatment of Mike has lifted the spirit of many more Americans to confidently seek for government’s intervention in personal health matters. Incidentally, the vast spending on healthcare by the government of America (which presently stands at 16% of GDP and the highest any country in the entire world can give to healthcare) is rather enriching healthcare companies as it offers several incentives for the companies to carry out researches and then ensures medical developments.
The plea for adaptation of universal healthcare in the US is based on the fact that it would bring about cost control through the use of government leverage since driving costs applicable to health services can be appropriately checked.
Analysis, Evaluation, and Critique of the Issues Presented by Krugman and Wells, and Cohn
Healthcare issues certainly are some of the most focal points for any government in the world. No government wants its citizens to wipe off due to the lack of healthcare, as the saying goes, ‘a healthy nation is a wealthy nation’. America’s fundamental interest in closely monitoring and helping to make healthcare more available (and of course more accessible) is therefore not entirely strange. It has become a tradition for the American government to be primarily engaged in addressing healthcare. Krugman & Wells (2006), from an estimated census, noted that as much as 63.1% of the population of the United States which is within the working force got healthcare insurance in the year 2004. Indecently, this national gesture has not been extended to the elderly in the same capacity, at least over 2/3 of the elderly in the United States has not been considered very appropriately by government machinery.
One challenge that is foreseen of this gesture is that America’s population is growing fast, as much as America’s foreign commitment is becoming more robust. Quite a number of reasons can be identified as being strained due to the government’s individualist commitment to healthcare in the United States, majorly is concern about costs and how to control costs. The provision of health insurance is certainly a welcome thing by persons who are employed as they continue to get incentives.
Healthcare costs presently have overridden most of the incentives which benefited the employer. At the present level when there is a loom of healthcare costs, most of the institutions that make available health services have entered a competition inevitably to sustain their market presence (Anselme, 2003; Huff, 2003; Golden, 2004). This situation has pressed down quite a number of companies that can not stay afloat in the presence of high competition. The point of view presented by Krugman & Wells and Cohn is strong and convincing enough, therefore.
Conclusion
This paper has focused on healthcare issues that have continued to attract the attention of many, especially lately when the human population seems to be facing more complicated health challenges. These concerns by several analysts hope to be of help for the improvement of measures used in addressing healthcare challenges. Some issues of prime interest regarding health were reviewed from the work by Paul Krugman and Wells entitled The Health Care Crises and What to Do About It, and Health Care Special Issue: Creative Destruction by Jonathan Cohn. This paper, therefore, has presented an analysis, an evaluation, a debate, a critique, and a differentiation of the ideas presented in both articles for the benefit of arriving at a more comprehensive healthcare administration position.
Reference List
Anselme, L. (2003). Healing Touch International: Health Care Integration Booklet. Lakewood, CO: Healing Touch International.
Cohn, J. (2007). Health Care Special Issue: Creative Destruction. Web.
Huff, T. (2003). The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China, and the West. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Golden, R. (2004). A history of William Osler’s The principles and practice of medicine. Montreal, Quebec: Osler Library, McGill University.
Krugman, P., & Wells, R. (2006). The Health Care Crisis and What to Do About It. Web.