The impact of rising health care costs on access to care in America

¶ … Health Care Costs in the United States on the Access to Care

Total U.S. Spending on Health Care vs. Overall Health in America

The United States spends an extraordinary amount of money on health care. In 2009, health spending was $2.47 trillion dollars and accounted for 17.3% of the U.S. economy in 2009 (Pickert, 2010). This was a significant increase over the 2008 figure of $2.34 trillion and "was the largest one-year jump since 1960" (Pickert, 2010). This has led to predictions that by 2019, U.S. health spending will be $4.5 trillion (Pickert, 2010). Much of this spending is government spending. Approximately one-fifth of the federal budget in 2009 went to health-care spending. That year, the "federal government spent about $500 billion on Medicare; the federal government and states spent some $380 billion on Medicaid" (Pickert). However, while U.S. health care spending has risen, the quality of health care in the United States has been in steady decline and has been surpassed by many western nations. "Compared with six other nations -- Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom -- the U.S. health care system ranks last or next-to-last on five dimensions of a high performance health system: quality, access, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives" (Davis et al., 2010).

Davis, K., Schoen, C., & Stremikis, K. (2010, June). Mirror, mirror on the wall: How the performance of the U.S. health care system compares internationally. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from the Commonwealth Fund website: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Fund%20Report/2010/Jun/1400_Davis_Mirror_Mirror_on_the_wall_2010.pdf

Pickert, K. (2010, February 4). The unsustainable U.S. health care system. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from Time.com website: http://swampland.time.com/2010/02/04/the-unsustainable-u-s-health-care-system/

Increased Health Care Costs have Led to Approximately 49 Million Uninsured Americans

The increased costs of health care have led to an insurance crisis. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2010, the number of uninsured Americans was 49.9 million (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). Moreover, "the percentage of people covered by private health insurance has been decreasing since 2011" (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). While there was an increase in the percentage of people covered by government insurance, it was largely due to Medicare. Most alarmingly, "in 2010, 9.8% of children under age 18 (7.3 million) were without health insurance" (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). Children in poverty were more likely to be uninsured than children in general, despite government programs to insure those children.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2011, September 13). Health insurance: Highlights: 2010. Retrieved

from http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/data/incpovhlth/2010/highlights.html

Increased Costs Put Strain on Medical Supplies and Staff

Increased medical costs mean that medical facilities may need to reduce their budgets. Oftentimes, this results in decreasing staff numbers and not replacing medical equipment and supplies when necessary. This is particularly troublesome for large-scale care providers, like hospitals, where supplies form a significant part of their budgets. "Many -- but not all -- of the price hikes are driven by the continually-rising price of oil, but others are not" (Zieger, 2008). The relationship between medical supply costs and oil prices is not simply about transportation, some medical supplies, like latex gloves, require oil to manufacture them. However, they also happen to be critical in helping curb the spread of disease in a hospital environment. "All told, it's an ugly picture that shows no signs of getting better over the near-term. And with many hospitals at the break-even point or even losing money, supply costs could be the straw that breaks the camel's back for some" (Zieger, 2008).

Zieger, A. (2008, July 22). Rising medical supply costs squeeze hospitals. Retrieved December

5, 2011 from Fierce Health Finance website: http://www.fiercehealthfinance.com/story/rising-medical-supply-costs-pinch-hospitals/2008-07-22