Astronomical Costs of U.S. Healthcare
The United States consistently prides itself on being “number one.” But why is it that so many Americans suffer over the cost of a basic human right? Healthcare costs in the United States are detrimentally high. So high, in fact, that people are going into debt because they sought out the professional care that they needed. Compared to other countries, the United States pays substantially more. The average cost that a citizen paid for healthcare in 2020 was estimated to be $11,945, which is over $4,000 more than any other high-income nation.
As far as nationwide spending, the United States healthcare spending has reached $4.1 trillion, which by average accounts to $12,500 per U.S. citizen. Obviously, the Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to this high amount, but regardless the United States spends exponentially more on healthcare costs than any other country.
Another driving contributor to the high costs of healthcare are the increasing prices of services. In comparison to the prices of other goods and services, healthcare increases the fastest. They are different reasons that healthcare services are rising in cost including new innovative technology, lack of insurance coverage, and competition between hospitals.
The logical outlook to some may be that the more expensive the healthcare is, the more efficient and successful the outcomes will be. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Regardless of how innovative our healthcare technology is, we, as a nation, have a much higher preventable death rate.
In the United States, the rate of preventable mortality is 177 deaths per 100,000 people. While the best performing country, Switzerland, has a rate of 83 deaths per 100,000 people. This is an exceptionally high rate considering the sky-high cost of healthcare.
In 2021, an estimated 160,000 lives were lost in our nation’s hospitals due to medical error. If our healthcare is so expensive, then our outcomes should coincide with and represent these costs.
According to Forbes, 50% of Americans have medical debt and this percentage continues to rise each year. Struggling to pay medical bills is a burden that nobody should carry, as healthcare should be extremely affordable, if not free. Health insurance is expensive on its own, and if one does not have a good insurance provider, they are facing potentially thousands of dollars in medical bills for routine services.
A recent study, conducted by JAMA, shows that debt collectors hold $140 billion in medical debt in the United States alone. People going into debt over seeking out medical care puts those who cannot afford it in a very uncomfortable position. Taking care of one’s health is arguably the most important thing in life, but sky-rocketing prices can deter people away from getting the help that they need.
But is healthcare a right or a privilege? The argument for universal healthcare in the United States has been a topic of discussion for decades. Some believe that it is an absolute necessity, while others debate that it would have negative impacts on the entire United States healthcare system.
Article 25 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights lists medical care as a basic human right, so why are people going into astronomical debt over it? The fight for universal healthcare will continue to rage on, but the future of healthcare costs is in the looks of rising, given its track record in past decades.
