FLAWS IN THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
I am writing in reference to the above named topic. Being a citizen of the United States, I am exceedingly disgruntled by the state of healthcare in my country. The state of affairs in healthcare has only gotten worse over the years, and the different power regimes have done little to remedy it. There has been a massive outcry from the public as they are the ones that have to endure the situation in the hospitals. I can explore various cases that contribute to the situation, but the biggest concern is that of insurance.
The number of people without health insurance increases every day. This is probably because of the unfavorable economic situation affecting everyone in the country. Many people lost their insurance benefits after they lost their jobs. As a result, thousands of people have lost their lives due to lack of health coverage. Doctors are unable to provide quality healthcare for their uninsured patients, especially those diagnosed with unremitting diseases. Due to this reason, they have no option but to seek alternative healthcare that may not be as effective. The problem does not end with the uninsured, even the insured once are limited to the type of treatment they receive. Many employers avoid purchasing insurance premiums that cover their employees adequately. Insured patients sometimes have to pay cash for their treatments until they reach the deductible amount, which is quite expensive.
It is difficult to explain the healthcare especially due to the amount of spending by the government. The government should look into providing healthcare especially for the old and the children. The government should also look into offering better if not cheaper treatments for pregnant women that cannot afford treatment in public hospitals. The homeless are also incapable of fending for their own treatment and the government should create mechanisms that take care of their healthcare. The cropping up of several free clinics has helped to ease the situation. The population is large, and even the free clinics do not have the resources to hold many people. It is my sincerest hope that this letter reaches the appropriate authorities in an effort to remedy the situation. The government should also put systems in place that offers their employees better premiums that cover all types of diseases. It should also create programs that allow chronic patients to seek medical care without necessarily worrying about their financial situations. It is common knowledge that treatment of chronic illnesses is quite expensive, and most insurance firms only cover chronic patients to a certain point. This has led to death of millions of patients that cannot afford to enter into expensive studies often pioneered by doctors that work in public hospitals. The studies are extremely competitive, and the patients could stand to gain a lot if the government intervened in terms of funding and availability for the public. These suggestions may act as the first step in a series of reforms so urgently required by the healthcare system. I will highly appreciate your intervention in this issue.
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
XXXXXX
To: Michael Moore
From: Surname
Date:
Re: Comparisons between the U.S healthcare system and other European countries
There are serious imperfections in the American healthcare system. The biggest flaws are probably those related to insurance. Millions of Americans are currently uninsured and those that are fortunate to have insurance are subjected to additional payment costs, fraud, and issues of red tape. The United States stand to learn a lot regarding healthcare and from countries such as Canada, France, Cuba, and the United Kingdom. Majority of the people in these countries have very little complaints regarding their healthcare systems unlike American patients who are constantly complaining about healthcare. Most American insurers deny their clients opportunities to undergo surgery even for debilitating diseases. American ambulances often deny services to patients that need to rush to the closest emergency room especially if the hospitals are non-network. Patients that are still ailing are released after their insurance benefits run out. This is because of the nature of American insurance systems that focus primarily on making maximum profits rather than offer secure and quality services to its people.
In comparison to the healthcare systems in some of the countries named above, the American healthcare system seems to lag behind and the people are on the receiving end. Countries such as Cuba and Canada have nationalized systems whose costs are substantially reduced by their respective administrations. Such countries impose high taxation to the citizens. The money recovered from taxes is put to good use and is distributed to healthcare. This way, citizens of these countries are able to enjoy cheaper and quality healthcare without having to worry about insurance coverage. Most Americans are under the impression that socialized healthcare is slow and that it involves long queues. However, in the end, people leave healthy and happy about the services rendered. Emergency rooms in these countries are more efficient compared to the American counterparts much to the satisfaction of doctors and patients. For instance, in France, the government has been providing excellent service for its citizens. Parents that are busy or having two jobs have the option to seek daycare for their children for as little as a dollar for an hour. The daycare in France is relatively cheap compared to the American daycare system that is extremely expensive. The French government also provides support to new mothers in terms of cooking and household cleaning. This allows new mothers to focus on raising their babies and rest sufficiently.
Medicine is expensive especially for patients that require constant supply. The government in the United Kingdom has created mechanisms that enable pharmacies to issue medicine to underage children and elderly people that are over the age of sixty. The cost of medicine is also substantially cheaper for everyone else, compared to the prices in the American pharmacies. There is a fixed amount of money, which is about six pounds per prescription. Certain companies in France, such as SOS Medicines make house calls to ailing citizens whenever necessary. Cuba on the other hand offers healthcare not just to its people but it renders its expertise to third world countries that cannot afford a certain levels of care. Based on this fact, the infant mortality in Cuba is lower and citizens of Cuba live much longer compared to Americans. Based on some of these factors, it is not surprising that some American citizens opt to make long trips to Canada whenever they need to fill a prescription, because it is much cheaper to do it there. The American system can learn a lot from these countries if they should chose to adopt a socialized system of healthcare. More people would receive treatment and the insurance companies would cease their control over the health of their clients. The American government needs to make healthcare reforms immediately; otherwise, its citizens will continue to languish in insurance debts and curable diseases.
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