The United States health care system is multifaceted because the system is characterized by a variety of aspects. The system involves monitoring the services for social agencies. This process again involves a wide range of services because it allows many social workers to coordinate their efforts. Many people argue that the multifaceted nature of health care system takes into account high expenditures or the high costs of providing health care facilities. Health care is financed in the U.S through various programs. Financing in the U.S is entirely different than other countries. This difference is due to the fact that the U.S does not have a national health insurance plan, such as in Canada. Government programs, self-insured plans, and insurance companies are some of the payers involved in financing process (Toema, 1).
The U.S does not have a national insurance plan for its citizens like other countries, but it has various public programs for the benefit of the poor, disabled and elderly people.
There are basically two approaches to health care financing namely, market-based financing and government financing. The multiple payer health care system is financed regressively by privately owned health insurance companies and is therefore referred to as market-oriented. It is dependent upon the paying capacity of the beneficiary and accordingly the insurance plan is purchased by the beneficiary (Toema, 1).
The Term Paper on Health Care System Insurance German
... similarities of the German system. In 1989 Hungary created the National Social Insurance Agency (NSIA), which was responsible for financing health care. The NSIA was ... Individuals who voluntarily join a private insurance plan are normally not allowed to re-enter the SHI system if the cross-subsidization effects ...
Various health plans cover various health care services but choice depends upon the purchasing power of the beneficiary to a greater extent. There are an assortment of advantages and disadvantages of the system.
The first advantage is that there are no time lags and no cost constraints with new cutting-edge technologies (Kaiser, 6).
Since this system relies on the financial capability of the beneficiary, various plans exist according to the need and paying capacity of the beneficiary. This essentially distributes the risks at different levels of the risk pool and sacrifices the control of the government for a greater ability to meet the diverse preferences of beneficiaries. Another advantage of this system is that there are no gaps with medications, dental services, ambulance services, and long-term care services (Kaiser, 7).
All health care services are covered. There are no exemptions but there are different plans that meet the different needs of the beneficiaries.
One disadvantage is that major health plans are designed to satisfy the needs of specific segments of the population only; other segments are excluded or disqualified. Government sponsored health care system is simply not available for certain classes of people. There are also effects of job rotation and job loss on health coverage. There are also obvious financial barriers amongst the multiple plans. This means that the poor are unfairly marginalized from accessing healthcare coverage.
Major concerns about the healthcare reform in the U.S. are rights to healthcare, access, fairness, efficiency, choice, value and quality. Many believe that the system does not repay the equivalent amount spent (Anderson, 4).
The infant mortality rate is also much higher in the U.S. These issues are addressed throughout the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The act aims at providing insurance to all Americans thereby reducing the total cost of healthcare. To increase the coverage rate, subsidies and tax credits are to be provided to employers and individuals (A More Secure Future, 1).
The Term Paper on U.S. Health Care System
... Health care system in the United States is struggling with high cost while trying to improve quality and increasing access for the health services. ... to increase quality and affordability of health insurance while reducing costs of health care for individuals and government but still ... offering health care insurance coverage as a benefit. This will continue to be an issue in the health care system if ...
Some people argue in favor of a national healthcare system while others are against the nationalized health care system. Proponents of the universal healthcare are of the opinion that health care is a right for all Americans as it is contained in the U.S. constitution. Also under a nationalized plan, costs of health care would be reduced. This is due to the fact that under bulk purchases of medicines and drugs, prices are negotiated at lower rates thereby reducing the total costs of health care (A More Secure Future, 1).
Another advantage is that even if one looses his or her job, that individual doesn’t need to worry about losing insurance. This person would be covered regardless of whether or not he or she was employed.
In a universal healthcare system, out of pocket expenses would also go down since the total cost of health care coverage would decline. Furthermore we already have laws in the U.S. that require emergency rooms to see patients even if they don’t have any insurance. This costs the hospital money which they pass onto the consumers and insurance companies (Anderson, 7).
Under a universal health care system, those that normally go without insurance would now be required to pay into it in the form of taxes. The distributed cost would bring down the personal expenses of those that already pay for insurance.
On the other end of the spectrum many critics claim that universal health care is not a step in the right direction. They claim that it won’t cover certain services in the national plan and therefore it will be necessary to obtain private insurance in addition to the universal health care. The government will be the in charge of the system and many are of the opinion that the government cannot be trusted to oversee social programs (Toema, 2).
Children are also not covered under this system which is a major disadvantage.
In an effort to cut costs, price and salary controls on drugs, medical equipment, and medical services are likely to be put in place, meaning there is less incentive to pursue medical-related research, development, and investment, nor pursue medical careers in general. It also aims at providing the insurance coverage to every legal resident who is not covered by Medicare plans or employer provided plans. In addition to this, the plan aims at providing the maternal plans and child care plans. Therefore it can be said that health care reform is addressing the issues about national health insurance provision.
The Essay on Health Care Delivery Systems 2
... creating to enhance the growth of cost-effective in the delivery of health care. Managed health care plan is a system that assimilates any management with in ... I had full control of conducting a health care delivery system I would focus in offering health care insurance for businesses, government organizations, people, families, groups, ...
Works Cited
“A More Secure Future.” Health Care That Works for Americans. N.p., 23 Mar. 2010. Web. 8 Dec. 2012
Anderson, Michael. “The Effect of Health Insurance Coverage on the Use of Medical Services †.” American Economic Journal. Economic Policy 2012, n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2012.
Kaiser, Henry. “Summary Of New Health Reform Law.” Www.kff.org. Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 15 Apr. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2012. .
Toema, Bassem. “Which Is Better: A Single Payer Health Care System or a Multiple Payer Health Care System?” Doc2Doc. N.p., 23 Oct. 2011. Web. 9 Dec. 2012.
