How can Americans stay healthy with
all these flaws within the healthcare system? 

Many people see the United States as one of the most significant countries in the world. How can this be when one of the most essential systems, the healthcare system, is not the strongest it can be? Many countries worldwide have a free healthcare system that citizens can access when needed. However, that is not the case in the US. The US healthcare system causes many Americans to choose not to see a doctor due to the unreasonable cost. Many things are implemented to help Americans afford medical attention when necessary, like insurance, Medicare, and places like retail health clinics. Yet, these implements still have many flaws that come with them. 

Americans unfortunately don’t have the leisure to just go to the hospital or doctor when needed as citizens in many other countries do. They will pay a lot for health insurance that only partially covers their doctor visits. Around 15% of Americans don’t even have insurance due to its high costs and the little coverage it gives. Americans who do have insurance are forced to pay high prices since there are not many insurance companies, and because of that, these insurance companies can charge whatever they please. The article “Is our Healthcare System broken?” states, “High costs combined with high numbers of underinsured or uninsured means many people risk bankruptcy if they develop a serious illness.” The high costs of medical attention in the US can have severe and detrimental consequences that come with it. These adverse effects on Americans can trickle down their lives, causing many different things, like debt. Unlike citizens in other countries, they have to think twice when seeking medical attention for any sickness or injury. 

Another way the US healthcare system also tries to help Americans afford medical attention after age sixty-five through Medicare. Americans pay for Medicare through taxes all their life till they are sixty-five years old when they are eligible for it. Medicare provides help for over sixty million seniors or disabled Americans every day. However, even after paying for Medicare through taxes for sixty-five years, it still has many flaws that come with it. One of the significant flaws of Medicare is the added out-of-pocket expenses that Medicare does not cover. Many Americans with Medicare are retired and no longer have an income so these extra out-of-pocket expenses can cause a burden to these senior citizens.  The article “What Are the Pros and Cons of Medicare?” states, “Some beneficiaries may choose to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan because these plans are required to include an annual out-of-pocket spending limit.

Other beneficiaries may choose instead to apply for a Medicare Supplement Insurance plan, which pays for certain out-of-pocket costs such as Medicare copays, coinsurance, deductibles, and more.” Considering what has been stated, Americans with Medicare need to pay monthly for supplemental plans that will cover the out-of-pocket costs that they would have to pay otherwise if they just had Medicare. With this being said, the only pro to this kind of plan is eliminating the surprise out-of-pocket costs that come with the visits for these Americans. However, not all Americans can afford to pay extra monthly for a better insurance plan to cover the out-of-pocket expenses and are forced to pay the out-of-pocket expenses after doctor visits or medical attention.

Some Americans may find that the extra plan is unnecessary due to it not constantly breaking even with the amount of money they would have to pay monthly to cover the out-of-pocket costs when they cannot predict how much they would have to spend on out-of-pocket costs. Furthermore, the article “What Are the Pros and Cons of Medicare?” states, “While Medicare is widely accepted across the U.S., it’s not necessarily accepted by every health care provider.” Therefore, after all of the money spent towards Medicare through taxes and if the American pays an additional amount of money monthly for a supplemental plan, they can still find a disadvantage within the medicare plan of not being accepted by all healthcare providers. 

Additionally, the US healthcare system has retail clinics that can benefit many Americans, but that comes at a cost. Most Americans will choose to go to retail health clinics for their affordable prices and time efficiency. Yet, these retail healthcare clinics are only sometimes seen as providing the best care. In the article “Retail health clinics: The pros and cons,” it states, “Geriatrician Dr. Suzanne Salamon, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, is concerned that the details of a patient’s visit to a retail health clinic might not be sent to her. Although clinics offer this service, not everyone takes them up on it. ‘The risk with that is, scattered care from multiple places can lead to mix-ups,’ says Dr. Salamon. ‘And if people don’t bring their complete medication lists to a clinic, the clinic may prescribe something that will interact with medications they’re taking.” It has been found that these retail health clinics may not be fully treating their patients at their highest capability due to a lack of knowledge. With this occurring, patients who choose this route when seeking medical attention might worsen their health due to choosing to go to a retail health clinic compared to their primary doctor for the low cost or time efficiency of the retail health clinic. 

References

Shmerling , R. H. (2021, July 13). Is our healthcare system broken? Hardvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-our-healthcare-system-broken-202107132542#:~:text=The%20cost%20is%20enormous%201%20High%20cost%2C%20not,bankruptcy%20if%20they%20develop%20a%20serious%20illness.%20

Worstell , C. (2023, October 27). What Are the Pros and Cons of Medicare? Help Advisor. https://www.helpadvisor.com/medicare/pros-and-cons-of-medicare

Godman, H. (2016, January 15). Retail health clinics: The pros and cons. Harvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/retail-health-clinics-the-pros-and-cons-201601158979