Healthcare in the United States is widely criticized for its low efficiency and high cost. As a result, the American government is spending billions of dollars on healthcare with little improvement for the situation in the medical system. The goal of this paper is to discuss advocacy and political interventions that might improve the situation in the United States based on the differences between American and British medical systems.
The structure of the American system is the fundamental cause of the problem with its low efficiency and high cost. The comparison between medical systems in the United States and the United Kingdom shows that healthcare in Great Britain is cheaper and higher in quality due to its centralized structure (Sawyer & McDermott, 2019). In the United Kingdom, the government pays for medicine with taxation money and provides all citizens with free access to care (Childers, 2016). American healthcare, on the other hand, is financed through a variety of sources. The Affordable Care Act changed the situation, but the system still primarily relies on the institute of health insurance and private insurance companies (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2017). The complications associated with this form of financing lead to higher administrative costs, which compromises the effectiveness of the whole structure. In order to improve the situation, advanced practice nurses should advocate for taking measures for reorganization and centralization of the healthcare system in the United States.
The system of health insurance provided by private companies compromises the quality of American medicine and leads to high administrative costs. Government-run healthcare in The United Kingdom provides an excellent example of a cost-effective centralized structure of the system. Advocating for a reorganization of American healthcare along the same principles will help improve the situation.
References
Childers, C. (2016). US and UK Healthcare System Comparison [Video file]. Web.
Kaiser Family Foundation (2017) Summary of the American Health Care Act [PDF document]. Web.
Sawyer, B. & McDermott, D. How does the quality of the U.S. healthcare system compare to other countries. Web.