The Price of Free Health Care in the US - Literature review Example

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW Literature Review: The ‘Price’ of Free Health Care You’re Name University Literature Review: The Price of ‘Free’ Health Care Quality health care and the affordability of it is a common concern in many nations, however it is explicitly obvious in the United States that there is a need for a drastic reform in the current health care policy. The reason this is stated is obvious due to the study carried out by Milio (need date and page number) which clearly shows that there have been failed implementations in it since the Clinton Administration was in office. Furthermore, Bodenheimer's study (? Need date and page number) emphasizes this as well, as it shows the cost of current health care in the United States has risen annually at an estimated percentage rate of 15-30%. In this regard, many politicians perceive the concept of reforming to a health care policy that will incorporate a single-payer system as the most feasible and more logical way of reducing the expense of health care for the citizens in the United States. It is also astounding to find that the United States is seemingly one of the last nations that has not adopted a Universal health care policy, as Blankaneau (2001, p.38) defines. It is unclear why this is the case since health security is supposed to be one of the most fundamental attributes of a nation. Campbell (need date and page number) even gives a historic presentment to this point as his study shows there have been major historical efforts to change health care since the earliest part of the 20th century, but to no real avail. This can be correlated by the facts being orchestrated within the activities taking place in the Bush Administration currently (Wechsler date, pg. number). In the research study carried out by Wechsler (need date and page number), it is defined how the Bush Administration is trying to overcome the adversities presented by its current health care policy by implementing a strategy that urges citizens to embrace a consumer directed program. However, some politicians still feel that replications of the Canadian health care policy might make more head way in the reformation of the United States policy. Furthermore, Wechsler (need date and page number) shows that the Bush Administration seems to be focused on a health reform that would benefit the wealthier of the country so ultimately, in the long run it would not be feasible to have these types of reformations as they would be of benefit to no one but the rich and prestigious. Bodenheimer's research (? Need date and page number) insists that it is plausible to use a single-source payee health care system because it would allow the excess burden of medical costs to be funneled into the currently mentioned system in a way that would give the government better leverage in controlling as well as alleviating many of the high medical costs that exist in the health care policy now. Nevertheless, at the same time that it is said the Canadian health care policy has some positive attributes that would work well for reforming the United States health care policy, Esmail (? Need date and page number) states that there are still adverse elements of the Canadian policy as well. Although Canadian health care ensures that all of the citizens of the country of Canada receive proper health care the wait for the care is highly substantial and in this regard could pose adversities in individuals’ health simply due to having to schedule surgeries that are pertinent to an individuals well-being months ahead of time. Esmail (? Need date and page number) emphasizes the fact that the wait period for proper health care in Canada, especially with gaining access to specialist services is excruciating long, and therefore this policy would not be in the best interest of the United States. To validate this point more aggressively, Esmail's research study (? Need date and page number) details that the current wait to see a specialist in Canada is almost nine weeks. For some people this could be the key to life and death and a wait like this is simply unjustifiable. It becomes even more impacted once a patient is seen by a specialist with the wait time moving up to 9 1.2 more weeks just to wait to receive the necessary treatment the specialist has ordered. In this regard, the Canadian Health care policy could not be viewed as positive for the United States, of course not by Esmail’s study (?date and page number). A country has to look at the over all picture of what a new and reformed Health Care Policy can bring to a nation, not just what cost benefits are going to be achieved. This is especially true when, as was stated, a long wait for proper health care could lead to death, especially for those who are elderly. Rosenau-Vaillancourt (1994, p.462) provides validation to these points as well, by providing further evidence as to how long the wait for health services actually is in Canada. Furthermore, Rosenau-Vaillancourt(1994, p. 463) points out that although Canada does have quite a powerful emphasis on providing health care for all citizens and that the health care policy itself was built around a centralized and well sound health policy, it fails to remove the barriers related to timely health care services, which the United States can provide to it’s citizens without the same encumbersome inconvenience. Even so, the United States has its own set of adversities in its health care policy, some having already been mentioned, although there are others of an even more serious nature. Firstly, employers who sponsor health coverage for employees continue to decrease, which inevitably affects the elderly as well as the younger population in the United States (Kaiser Commission 2006). Furthermore, the many different policies that are in force are not wholly fair to the policy holders. Many of them have heavy premiums yet do not provide dental coverage or vision care whatsoever. These are just a slight few of the heavier of adversities which definitely show a need for reform because everyone needs dental and vision care in their health plan yet very few have it. Nevertheless, it has been stated that because of the cost of health insurance in the United States and due to many employers not offering coverage to their employee’s there is a detrimental problem with the rise of those having no coverage of health care. Kronick & Gilmer (need date and page number) show that within the past 30 years the uninsured rate of American citizens has risen dramatically. This definitely does not bode well in regards to the current price of health care premiums and the types of coverage’s health care providers are offering. Furthermore, the study by Kronick & Gilmer (need date and page number) brings a closer reality to the fact that if a reform doesn’t take place soon then the United States might be dealing with an unbearably amount of uninsured and underinsured United States citizens. This will have a drastic impact on the economy as well, not just in the health care policy and everything in relation to it. Shockingly however, researchers have found that the United States has had a number of opportunities to try and implement replicas of a Canadian style of health care, yet they have not done so. In fact, according to Mitchell (2002, p.9) the idea has passed before Congress previously and although they examined the ideas presented and even went so far as to discuss them and what impact they would have, they were then pushed aside and seemingly ignored. This is very complex to understand as when examining and studying the current policy there are a number of obvious negativities. One such adversity of the current policy is the fact that the cost of the care without having to wait is found to be extreme while Canada’s is more flexible and reasonable for all citizens. In this regard, it can be found that both policies have pros and cons. A plus that Waffner (date and page number) defines within Canada’s policy is the fact that employers often cover their employees with health care coverage and switching jobs doesn’t interfere with this coverage, while in the United States changing employment drastically impacts health care coverage. Furthermore, Waffner (date and page number) also points to the facts that although both of these countries have employment which is contracted overseas, within the United States employee’s that worked abroad don’t have the same benefits as they did when working out of the country once they return. However, Canada on the other hand does not switch the elements of its international health care policies in this manner. This only concretes on the problem in the United States that more people will be underinsured due to the various changes that health care policies implement due to geographic or economic reasons. Regardless of these various facts, history defines that no where has it ever been found anywhere that there has existed any national health care policy in any country that is totally flawless according to Esmail (?date and page number). Also, Bodenheimer’s research (?need date and page number) shows that simply because the Canadian Policy has flaws does not necessarily mean that some aspects of it could not be replicated to an Americanized health care policy. This is especially true since the fact of it is the United States policy is severely troubled and therefore needs implementations quickly to correct the innumerable problems that it is facing. Saltman’s research (? Need date and page number) seems to correlate with what Bodenheimer and even Esmail are individually stating, even though there are differing opinions on some points. A universal health care plan could still ensure that all citizens receive proper medical care where as in the United States now, Saltman’s study (?Need date and page number) defines that there are hundreds of thousands of people who never get medical care due to being unable to afford health care insurance. Of course this correlates with the problem of how expensive health care coverage is in the United States. So the issue has to be weighed against the adversities of no health care for individuals at all compared to longer waits for health care services. A news report by the Bay Area Economics Forum (need date and page number?) illustrates that lack of medical insurance drives the cost of medical care up beyond what any other issue could. This report defines (need date) that the burden that is impacted upon emergency rooms and other health care providers is past the point of extreme and is gradually worsening year after year. Much of this is due to the fact that many employers in the United States fail to provide adequate health insurance to their employees. Therefore this news report (need date) shares with the public that there needs to be an enforcement by the government to push employers to provide adequate health care coverage as it is only fair to the employees. Also, this would of course help in bringing down the cost of health care services as they stand right now. Needless to say, the United States government must try and determine which promotes more negativity by analyzing the pros versus the cons of implementing a universal health care policy in the United States. Saltman (?date and page number) clearly emphasizes that there are a number of positives in the universal health care plan such as equal treatment for all citizens, a stable funding base, a uniform data base, as well as many other pluses. At the same time however there are the cons with some being shown as the rise of political conflicts, long waits for health care, redirection for existing revenue, and quite a number of other negative impacts also (Saltman [need date and page number]). However, Cortese & Smoldt (need date and page number) disclose that even though Canada does have a waiting list for health care services, their treatment is superb for all citizens regardless of individual status in the country. The United States has more adversities, according to Cortese & Smoldt (need date and page number). Some of these are pointed out in the extensive research found in Cortese & Smoldt’s (need date and page number) study that defines the United States health care policy presently suffers from lack of quality and safety, the public’s unease, rising costs, and the baby boomers retirement. In conclusion, this literature review has validated the facts for the need for health care reform. It has offered a comparison of Canada’s health care policy in relation to the United States and how some of the ideals found in the Canadian policy could work well for Americans. The body of this dissertation continues in this style of research, giving fuller and more concise ideas in relation to the ones that have been expressed in this literature review. Although this research has pinpointed that there are impediments and various barriers it is not impossible to try and incorporate changes to construct a new style for the health care policy as it currently stands. However, more studies need to be carried out to get the initiative for transforming the current health care policy motivated. The U.S. system must obviously confront these various problems so that they will be able to provide adequate and guaranteed health care coverage to all citizens in the United States. However, as it stands right now there is not a logical solution towards reaching an agreement in Congress or in any other legislative body that will allow for Universal Coverage. In any regard, some change has to be carried out or the nation will definitely suffer for it. References Blankenau, Joe. (2001). The Fate of National Health Insurance in Canada and the United States: A Multiple Streams Explanation. Policy Studies Journal, 29, 38-55. Kaiser Commission. (2006). Medicaid and the Uninsured. Retrieved 26 May 2006, from http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload7451.pdf Mitchell, Daniel. (2002). Earl Warren’s Lost Cause. How the United States might have had Canadian Style Health Insurance. Working USA, 6, 9-25. Rosenau-Vaillancourt, Pauline. (1994). Impact of Political Structures and Informal Political Processes on Health Policy: A Comparison of the United States and Canada. Review of Policy Research, 13, 293-314. Read More