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, health insurance for those who can afford it and through Medicare. 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. 

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.

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. it is also trying to use Medicare as a way to help senior citizens, but still comes with the many flaws. However, this can only help so much to better US healthcare overall.

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

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