Money over Medical

The US healthcare system is very different from other countries. One significant difference could be cost or accessibility for citizens. The US healthcare system has been developing new ways to keep all Americans healthy and cost-efficient. One of the many ways US healthcare has done this is through urgent care, retail health clinics, and health insurance for those who can afford it. Having these clinics and insurance for the everyday American makes it much easier and less stressful for many people to stay healthy and have many resources when they become sick. 

Urgent care and retail health clinics have many benefits for them. From accessibility due to the many locations of both and the areas in which they are located. Many Americans find these clinics and doctors to be one of the first places they will visit for their sickness. They also are known for their quickness and time efficiency. From personal experience with these places, they are sometimes not the quickest, but they serve well for small things like a cold, the flu, or minor injuries. However, how can the average American get the services they need without insurance when they are forced to go to the hospital for something more significant like a broken leg or sickness? Although there are many avenues for Americans to choose from when they become sick or injured, sometimes the hospital or calling an ambulance is the only option. The average cost of an ambulance ride in the US is around $1,000. That is for both insured and uninsured Americans. Even with insurance, many Americans find themselves only calling an ambulance if it is a life-or-death situation due to the high costs of the ambulance. 

Urgent care can only provide so much for the everyday American needing a doctor’s visit. It comes down to the costs of a simple checkup compared to something more serious that costs an arm and a leg at the ER. This is one of the most significant downfalls in the US healthcare system. Americans without health insurance find themselves in a panic when they have a severe injury or sickness that forces them to go to the hospital or need surgery. Many Americans have loads of medical bills due to the high costs of the healthcare system throughout the US. The article, “90% of Americans With Medical Debt On Their Credit Report Face Setbacks; New Rules May Help”, states, “In a survey of 1,000 American adults conducted by Tebra, a medical practice management company, 25% of respondents reported that they’d had unpaid medical bills show up on their credit reports. Of those, 91% reported having experienced financial setbacks as a result.” These medical bills are pilling up on Americans who are insured and uninsured. How is this possible with all the great insurances that are supposed to be helping Americans stay healthy, yet they are causing many of them to have set backs? It also states in the article, “…$88 billion in medical debt clogged up Americans’ credit reports and medical debt a top source of consumer complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Burreau (CFPB), any relief should be welcome news to millions of Americans” 88 billion dollars of medical debt across the board for Americans is absurd. This is absurd because many other countries have free healthcare that their citizens can access anytime. 

Unfortunately, not all Americans can afford health insurance, which causes these Americans to go a different route than most may go when becoming sick. The article “The Growing Epidemic of Uninsurance: New Data on the Health Insurance Coverage of Americans” states, “Since 1989, the ranks of the uninsured have swelled by 6.3 million.” 6.3 million Americans have to deal with the cost of health care due to not having insurance every day. While many insured Americans visit their primary doctor when sick, this is not true for everyone. When the cost comes into play, it can be a significant factor to consider too many. Although there seem to be many benefits to urgent care and retail health clinics, there are far too many downfalls that come with it, from the cost to the effectiveness of these types of places. The US government is doing its best to provide as many healthcare resources as possible, such as urgent care, retail health clinics, etc. However, this can only help so much to better US healthcare overall. The article “Health expenditures in the U.S. – statistics & facts” states, “The United States spends more on health care than any other country. Annual health expenditures stood at over 4.2 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021, and personal health care expenditure equaled 10,784 U.S. dollars per resident.” The US government spends over 10,000 dollars per citizen, yet people are still struggling to make ends meet, and many US citizens have medical bills that are piling up. It is also stated in the article, “Americans now spend twice as much on Healthcare as they did in the 1980s,” that “The average American household spent almost $5,000 per person on health care last year.” This average annual cost is taken from Americans with and without insurance. That means some Americans find themselves to be spending much more than $5,000 a year. How can this be when the US government spends upwards of 4.2 trillion dollars a year on the US healthcare system?

References

Hellander I, Moloo J, Himmelstein DU, Woolhandler S, Wolfe SM. The Growing Epidemic of Uninsurance: New Data on the Health Insurance Coverage of Americans. International Journal of Health Services. 1995;25(3):377-392. doi:10.2190/AQTP-FLAQ-PWXN-DYMR

(2023, November 13). 90% of Americans With Medical Debt on Their Credit Report Face Setbacks. Forbes. 90% Of Americans With Medical Debt On Their Credit Report Face Setbacks (forbes.com)

(2023, October 24). Health Expenditures in the U.S. Statista. Health expenditures in the U.S. – statistics & facts | Statista