Author: Sage Wong
Healthcare in the United States involves a mix of private and public entities involved in insurance. Currently, 150 million Americans are covered through private employer-sponsored health insurance. On top of that, Medicaid covers 70 million people and Medicare covers 50 million people. Despite the US leading the world in healthcare spending both in dollars and in percentage of GDP, it has failed to produce high-quality access and affordability compared to other developed countries. The US should switch to a universal healthcare system because the current health conditions of the average American is lagging behind other developed nations, and while private companies continue to focus more on maximizing profits over treatment.
The current health of the average American lags behind many developed countries in the European Union (EU). In 2021, the US had the lowest life expectancy out of all the countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – 77 years. This was around 3 years lower than the average, which was 80.4 years. The US has the largest economy by far out of any of these nations, and yet it is uncharacteristically falling behind in healthcare results. This is mostly due to companies overpricing our people for profit. The number of avoidable deaths for every 100,000 people is 336 – 150% the average of avoidable deaths for OECD countries. Avoidable deaths are defined as deaths that could have been prevented or treated. Notably, this includes deaths from smoking tobacco, obesity, and alcohol, which are all more prevalent in the United States compared to similarly developed countries. The infant mortality rate is also much higher in the United States, being 5.4 every 1000 live births compared to the OECD average of 4.1. The maternal mortality rate is also in a similar situation, being at 23.8 compared to the OECD average of 9.8. This shows how the quality of healthcare in the US is currently lagging behind that of other developed nations in the OECD.
Private companies focus on maximizing profit over care. Capitalism is structured in a way which incentivizes profit, which has some benefits and drawbacks. On the bright side, this has made the US a center for innovation and entrepreneurship, having 60 of 100 of the top market cap companies, including Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, and Google. It is also a leader in innovating global medicine through creating HAART, being the first country to fully develop mRNA based vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, and being the country to produce 53% of all APIs(Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) by dollar value. However, these same companies can also take advantage of the higher income of Americans and overcharge in order to increase profit, leading to a wage-price spiral. This is part of the reason why MRIs cost 4 times more in the United States compared to Australia and why the United States has the highest average cost of 1 vial of insulin at 98.7, around 7 times higher than Japan. This shows how private companies will automatically prioritize profit over care, therefore hiking up the prices of drugs and treatment.
Currently, healthcare outcomes in the United States are lower than that of its European counterparts despite spending more proportionally. Lagging metrics include high infant and maternal mortality rates, and avoidable deaths. Additionally, with private companies overcharging American customers on healthcare related costs, this has further exacerbated the situation. This is why the United States should switch to a universal healthcare system which would cover everybody under public health insurance.
Works Cited
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