Journal 7 EC-HSPM 412
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University of South Carolina *
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412
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Medicine
Date
Feb 20, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by BrigadierExplorationWaterBuffalo161
The costs of health care are too high to make obtaining health care affordable for the average American. Annual per capita health expenditures in the United States are the highest in the world (USD $11,172, on average, in 2018), with health care costs growing between 4.2 percent and 5.8 percent annually over the past five years (Tikkanen et al. 2020, United States). In 2020, U.S. health care spending reached $4.1 trillion, which averages to over $12,500 per person. By comparison, the average cost of healthcare per person in countries in the Organization for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) is only about one-third as much (Peter G. Peterson Foundation, 2022). Health care spending is increasing in the United States because of an aging population, a richer population, more insurance coverage, and the increasing quality of medical care (Hair, lecture 14).
In Canada, the national government funds health insurance. Most of the services patients receive from a hospital or general practitioner office are covered by government insurance. “According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information it is actually illegal in Canada for private insurance to cover services covered by government insurance. Thus, Canadian health care is a “single-payer” system according to Harvard Health Publishing. The Canadian health care system was established by the Canada Health Act of 1984” (Ross University School of Medicine, 2020). Health care for Canadians costs $7,000 per person as of 2019. In the United States, health care costs more than $10,000 per person according to Consumer News and Business Channel (Ross University School of Medicine, 2020).
Canada also participates in universal health care coverage. This means that everyone has access to health services that they may need and any given time or place, without financial hardship. The United States, however, does not participate in universal health care coverage. If this were to be able to work in the United State’s health care system, higher taxes would have to
be imposed so that the government could properly afford the country’s health services for everyone. This would reduce the financial burdens upon many average Americans who cannot afford proper health care. There are also preemptive steps that must be taken to control moral hazard, which can explode the government budget if left unchecked (Hair, lecture 17). References
Hair, Nicole. “MODULE 6-LECTURE14-Technology and The Price of Health Care.” Health Economics, October 10, 2022, University of South Carolina. Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.
Hair, Nicole. “MODULE 7-LECTURE17-The Health Policy Conundrum.” Health Economics, October 10, 2022, University of South Carolina. Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.
Tikkanen, Roosa, et al. “Canada.”
Home
, 5 June 2020, https://www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries/canada
.
Tikkanen, Roosa, et al. “United States.”
Home
, 5 June 2020, https://www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries/united-
states.
“US vs. Canadian Healthcare: What Is the Difference?”
Ross University School of Medicine
, 11 May 2021, https://medical.rossu.edu/about/blog/us-vs-canadian-healthcare.
“Why Are Americans Paying More for Healthcare?”
Peter G. Peterson Foundation
, 16 Feb. 2022, https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2022/02/why-are-americans-paying-more-for-healthcare.
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