U.S. Health Care System is a series of geographically-determined networks. Established according to American beliefs and values, the system provides essentially two models of health care: the Market Justice Model, based on free enterprise and individual responsibility and ability/willingness to pay; the Social Justice Model, based on the public and equitable provision of basic health care services to all members. The two models are often in conflict with each other,

U.S. Health Care System 2010 saw the passage of the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the most striking transformation to the health care landscape since Medicare's enactment in 1965. The bill focuses on two critical issues facing the overall U.S. health care system: cost and coverage. Because the U.S. health model is not defined by a single payer or "socialized medicine"; the delivery system has created a significant lacuna

U.S. Health Care System 1 With the population in America aging, there is a question of how well prepared the nation is to handle care for the elderly. As Dall et al. (2013) point out, the increasingly large elderly population will require an increasingly large and specially trained health care workforce within the next decade to ensure quality care is available. LTC beds are certainly not the only place to put the

wealthiest nation that the world has ever seen is presently witnessing a situation in which over 47 million of its citizens have no health insurance (O'Neill, 2011). This is a number that is staggering but it is also a number that promises to keep growing and it is only the tip of the iceberg in regard to the delivery of health care services in America. As the economic conditions

While patients are currently being treated unethically by the U.S. system that values patients by their ability to pay, a 2004 study showed that patients receiving health care in a variety of nations with nationalized services were generally satisfied with their health care (Wensing and Szecsenyi, 2004). According to a 2004 ABC News poll, Americans were not satisfied with the current health care system. In fact, sixty-two percent favored a

(Gigante, S. February 22, 2010). These numbers suggest a population which will demand a high level of services over their retirement lives, and as such place enormous pressure on premiums and fees. The result of this excess demand will be a rejoinder by physicians, hospitals, and other service providers to increase prices. The issue will be how Medicare and Medicaid policy makers will treat these price increases. If history serves