Changes in Healthcare United States

Changes in Healthcare in the United States

This article illustrates how universal healthcare may lead to a healthy population in America and assist in mitigating an unhealthy nation's economic costs for a long time. Specifically (Zieff et al. 2020), there exist significant disparities in the United States where citizens within the low socio-economic category of the population are exposed to low or decreased quality healthcare access and increased exposure to chronic non-communicable conditions like type II diabetes and obesity among poor health determinants (Zieff et al. 2020). According to the article, the implementation of universal healthcare though would be challenging and complicated; changing from a market-based system to a universal system is vital (Galvani et al. 2020). This is because universal healthcare will better encourage and facilitate preventive, sustainable health practices and be more profitable for the long-term economy and public health of the United States of America.

The article further illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of universal healthcare in the United States, where some of the demerits include logistical challenges and colossal upfront costs.

On the other hand, though per capita healthcare expenditure in the United States is higher than in other countries, over 37 million Americans do not have health insurance. In comparison, more than 42 million citizens do not have access to adequate care (Zieff et al., 2020). Even though the current attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act would worsen healthcare inequalities, a universal system like that proposed in Medicare for All Act can change the efficiency and availability of American healthcare.

The article estimates that a single-payer, universal healthcare system will probably result in a 13% reduction in national healthcare spending, amounting to about $450 billion annually, when both the costs of coverage expansion and savings realized through the MAA are taken into account (Zieff et al. 2020). Through health premiums and present government funding, the entire system may be financed with less financial outlay than is presently borne by businesses and individuals (Galvani et al., 2020). Lower-income residents would benefit the most from the move to single-payer healthcare. Furthermore, according to our calculations, guaranteeing every American had access to healthcare would save nearly 68,000 deaths and 1.73 million years of life annually.

Also, inequitable, non-inclusive systems hinder access to quality healthcare by those with employer-sponsored insurance or who can afford it (Zieff et al., 2020). Such policies worsen health disparities by not prioritizing individual, policy, and environmental preventive measures. Moreover, failing to prioritize affordable, comprehensive health insurance for everyone in the community and straying from prevention will further affect the economy and health of the United States (Galvani et al., 2020). Even though there are undoubtedly substantial economic costs relating to universal healthcare, this article claims that these costs will be worthwhile in the long run and finally be offset by a healthy population whose health will be less economically burdened.

Due to the decreased number of uninsured Americans and the subsequent decrease in Medicare costs, the passage of the Obama-era ACA was a good step forward (Zieff et al., 2020). The Affordable Care Act's inclusive principles must not be overthrown by the current political activities in the United States. Again, this does not imply that providing everyone with access to healthcare would be a panacea; socio-economic determinants of health must also be considered. All Americans must have access to universal healthcare, but resolving these factors will take time. We can only achieve genuine public health on an economically viable road via universal and inclusive healthcare (Zieff et al., 2020). To conclude, this article has provided an extensive illustration of the importance of a shift to universal healthcare other than the current market-based systems.