TEHRAN – The United States does not have a uniform health system and has no universal healthcare coverage. The health sector in comparison to other high-income countries is filled with disparities and disadvantages. And new research has added heavyweight to that argument.
Universal health coverage means all patients have access to the health services they need without financial hardship, when and where they need them. This means a full range of essential health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation; among other medical services.
However, according to an alarming new poll, in the past three months, a staggering one-third of Americans did not take necessary medical treatment because they simply could not afford the costs. The survey from the West Health Policy Center and Gallup found that 30 percent of the participants said they chose not to attend to their medical needs because they could not afford the prices, a number that has now tripled from nine months ago and reaching its highest point during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, one-fifth of respondents say they or a household member have suffered a decline in health after delaying treatment because of the costs. What will be of even more concern and the alarm is that twenty percent of those from households that earn more than $120,000 per year (something considered as a healthy income) also reported postponing their health care due to financial reasons, that is an increase from three percent in March and a period when inflation has seen a sharp rise across the board.
The president of the West Health Policy Center, Tim Lash, highlighted this point to U.S. media by noting that the data showing those earning “significantly higher” than the middle class income are struggling with healthcare “tells you that [Americans] have a real problem.” He added that “it tells me that we’re at a breaking point and that it’s not just … those that are desperate are not just low-income individuals but even those that are more affluent,” he said. “And we’re going to have to find a way out of that.”
Almost a third of respondents said they would not have access to affordable care if they needed it today, this is a rise from a survey conducted in the spring in which 18 percent said the same. Another, 42 percent said they worry they won’t be able to pay for necessary medical care within the next year.
U.S. has a higher rate of chronic illness and a lower overall life expectancy than other high-income nations.Earlier this year a similar study by the same researchers found health care services among racial lines show a disparity in personal funding that was higher among Black adults, with 29 percent saying they could not afford adequate health care, 21 percent of Hispanic adults saying the same. A total of 16 percent of white adults, mainly those over 65, said they also would struggle to pay for reliable health care in the case of an emergency. “The practical ramifications of widespread reductions in basic household spending to offset the cost of care are considerable and should not come with great surprise given the substantial number of Americans who suffer its effects,” Gallup wrote at the time of the findings. “Dovetailing with these realities is majority support for a number of public policies currently being considered, underscoring a public that continues to remain open to government action designed to provide relief from healthcare expenses.”
Despite the alarming numbers, there has been little to zero government action.
A statement alongside the latest research pointed out that actually “decades of failed action and the current weakening of bold measures to lower costs have left Americans at the close of the year viewing the future as bleak as the past,”
The Coronavirus pandemic has weakened around half of Americans’ views of the health care system, with two-thirds of Americans saying they do not expect any future policies to result in lower costs. And in yet more racial disparities, one in 20 respondents reported knowing a friend or relative who died over the past year from Covid after not getting the needed care due to the cost, but Black Americans being twice as likely as white Americans to report this being the case.
Although the U.S. claims to be in the lead in biomedical research and cutting-edge medical technology, its medical system faces significant problems such as preventable medical errors, poor amenable mortality rates, and lack of transparency in treatment. Another issue is that Americans are facing is difficulty in finding reliable medical services like a good doctor. High costs of care and lack of insurance coverage for low and middle-class families have led to social and economic discrimination in healthcare services.
Among other rising challenges in the public health care comes down to the shortage of nurses, physicians, and specialists in hospitals and health centers, Americans are unable to get the optimal quality of medical care they require. The U.S. stands out from many countries in not offering universal health insurance coverage. Fifty million people, 16% of the U.S. population, lack insurance coverage. Medical expenditures such as pharmaceuticals and medical supplies have increasingly become unaffordable for marginalized communities. Therefore, paying medical bills and other medical costs have become high out-of-pocket expenses. Deprived communities continue to lack access to primary healthcare services and rely on emergency departments to treat chronic diseases and preventive care.
The increased costs of medical services occur due to the rise of chronic diseases. One of these is obesity, which is a major growing factor of concern in America affecting more and more patients. There was a time when the obese would be viewed as being wealthy, but as healthy food prices rise, Americans are depending more on cheaper fast food products which medical experts say has extremely harmful medical effects.
According to the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. has a higher rate of chronic illness and a lower overall life expectancy than other high-income nations.
High administrative costs is another contributing factor to the inflated prices Americans must pay for healthcare. This is while many Americans have health insurance, the premiums are rising while the quality of insurance policies is dropping and the average annual premiums covering families have increased, surpassing the current rising inflation rate as well as the income of employees.
The United States Census Bureau annually reports that around 27.5 million lower-income workers did not have health insurance something that is being linked to higher mortality rates, ranging from 30-90 thousand deaths per year. Advocates of health care reforms say the number of people without healthcare insurance is one of their primary concerns.
Meanwhile, analysts say fraud and corruption are widespread in the health sector. For instance, a significant problem is health providers assigning higher bills to a patient than is justified by common practice or even the law; a procedure that gets more money from insurance companies, but at the same time insurance companies charge higher premiums from patients. This means the patient gets stuck in the middle without any control over health outcomes and pricing.
It indicates not just how fragile America’s health care system is but also how fragile American families can be when they are trying to access it.
In conclusion, more Americans with good incomes are struggling while families with below-average incomes are much more affected, since visiting a physician when sick, getting an examination or test that has been recommended and then the follow-up care has become unaffordable.
Critics argue that while the U.S. spends hundreds of billions of dollars on its military budget, it can’t help Americans back home who need to visit the doctor.
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