The American healthcare system is a travesty. In 2021, the American Medical Association reported that the average American, per capita, spent $12,914 for healthcare costs which is $5,000 more than any other high-income country on Earth. In fact, according to the World Bank, the United States in 2021 spent more than $4.3 trillion in healthcare spending, which is the highest on the planet.
Despite the claims of many pundits, politicians, and healthcare industry lobbyists proclaiming enthusiastically, “America has the greatest healthcare system in the world”, remarkably it is quite the opposite. From what should be a bang for our buck, the United States ranks the lowest of all developed countries when it comes to healthcare: including access to care, equity, affordability, healthcare outcomes, and administrative efficiency, according to the Commonwealth Fund.
Instead, the World Health Organization notes that many other countries surpass the United States when it comes to healthcare: Denmark, the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, Australia, and many more across the globe out compete us.
Though Americans outspend more than anyone else on healthcare, it is observable to the average person that Americans are continuing to decline in standard of living and average life expectancy, which the U.S. is beaten by 53 other countries. Major health issues from obesity, mental health, and other chronic conditions continue to worsen in the country, according to the World Health Organization.
Yet with this information, we find that from the National Health Expenditure Data of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the U.S. healthcare industry which is the third largest industry in the country, made $808 billion in 2021 which 65% of that revenue came from patient care. In 2022, Kaiser Research found that more than 100 million American adults have some form of healthcare debt. Furthermore, more than 44,789 Americans of working-age die every year from lack of health insurance.
Our country’s healthcare system seems to benefit from people who are sick in order to profit from services used. However, much of the world seems to hold the opposite philosophy that healthy people are a benefit to society and healthcare is worth any potential cost.
It’s easy for people’s eyes to glaze over from statistics and numbers in large quantities, but I believe it is easier to understand these massive fundamental problems when it has a more human element. I’ve yet to meet someone on campus that hasn’t suffered as a result of dealing with healthcare or at least someone who knows a person who has struggled with healthcare; I imagine it’s the same story of nearly every American.
Students across campus have diverse healthcare situations. Some are lucky to have their parents’ insurance or have a good job that provides them with some form of healthcare coverage. Others are not so lucky. The National Institute of Health estimates that one in five college students are either uninsured or don’t have health insurance at all.
I’ve met many students on campus who work more than one job but can’t afford health insurance or any government healthcare programs to cover healthcare costs in this state versus other states where they might be able to get healthcare coverage. I’ve also met many students and community members who require medication to not only function day-to-day, but to survive. However, they struggle to pay this medication out of pocket for factors such as price, whether it is a brand or generic drug, and what their deductible is.
No person should have to choose whether to make payments for groceries and housing or decide to obtain essential medication to continue to live.
So I ask a question that I’ve long pondered which I now pose to you, the reader. Why do we tolerate this?
I strongly believe there are widely available and known solutions to tackling persistent problems about our healthcare system. There are options whether it is a single-payer universal healthcare system, a multi-payer and multi-provider universal healthcare system, cracking down on insurance companies, or even raising wages for every American to afford private health insurance. Which is the best solution is up for debate, but something else is better than the status quo. The United States is the only country in all developed countries without a universal healthcare system.
This editorial is not meant to attack or demean the millions of Americans who work and serve in the healthcare industry, I salute all the health professionals in this country for continuing to do their jobs daily while being impacted by such a system. It is not their fault.
I believe that it’s time for Americans to protest and enact change now. Students should be at the forefront of calling for this change through active protesting, citizen-lobbying, legal action, and the ballot box.
An American broadcaster by the name of Walter Cronkite, who was proclaimed by national surveys as ‘the most trusted person in America’, once remarked in an interview that, “America’s health care system is neither healthy, caring, nor a system.” Our healthcare system is a travesty; let’s do something about it.
