America, in most cases, has the best versions of everything in this whole world ranging from military, technology, food, jobs, money, and medicine, but there is a vital part of America that sticks out from the rest. This aspect of society is one of the most important, yet little looked over: the healthcare system.
And it must be said that healthcare brings nothing more than sadness and debt for those who truly need it.
Well what is healthcare? Healthcare is medical treatment provided for the people who simply does what they can to help you when you’re in need, all places have healthcare but one that sticks out the most is America’s mainly because of how more advanced they are compared to other countries around the world.
Even when a patient is undergoing the best treatment they can find, there is also a huge downside to that healthcare: the cost of medical treatment is expensive. Healthcare treatments are too expensive, usually around $13,493 and up, and those are costs that can damage the patient, at least from a financial standpoint, if not a psychological one, severely. Patients who expect to pay affordable costs are instead dumped with a huge debt that not only burdens the patients but also their families by pushing the payments onto them as well.
“I am still undergoing cancer therapy, and my quarterly injections – without insurance – cost $34,000 each. These are shots that literally take two minutes to administer, and yet I could not afford them without insurance. Thankfully, the school has very good insurance plans, but I max out my deductible by February of each year,” Leslie Fireman, English teacher at WCCHS, said.
Patients such as poor families who are not able to turn over the money on time are punished with late fees, putting them into a worse position than before. The pressure of these late fees is sure to destroy the mental health of a person. And financial struggles (also known as debt) are one of the main reasons America has an increased suicide rate.
Why is healthcare here in America expensive?
“There are many factors that contribute to the high cost of healthcare in the country. These include wasteful systems, rising drug costs, medical professional salaries, profit-driven healthcare centers, the type of medical practices, and health-related pricing,” Michael J. Boyle, a writer for Investopedia said
“Debt” is a very important word passed throughout the article and why is that? Mainly because debt is a very common cause of depression here in the United States. Financial struggles can change a person in many ways: debt can lead to a huge increase in anger, denial, depression, and anxiety, affecting much of the person’s daily life. Those who experience these hardships are forced into a cycle whereby they cannot be happy can’t avoid worry and don’t feel as if they can just live peacefully and with all these emotions all coming together at the same time some are driven to take the so on so “easy way out”. In America, healthcare is a huge contributor to that debt: 41% of Americans specifically are struggling from a trip to the doctor’s office. What was supposed to be beneficial to their health turned into a situation that no person should ever have to experience.
“This project found that healthcare debt is a wide-reaching problem in the United States and that 41% of U.S. adults currently have some type of debt due to medical or dental bills from their own or someone else’s care, including about a quarter of adults (24%) who say they have medical or dental bills,” Lunna Lopes, Marley Presiado, and Liz Hamel, all writers for the KFF website (which tracks healthcare statistics), said.
Seeing how debt struggles can change a person, it should a huge reason as to why the healthcare system to have some sort of financial change financially on those who need it. Lowering the cost in this case isn’t possible as it’s commonly known that the government would never do such a thing as help their own citizens.
Despite Bernie Sanders and Barack Obama’s efforts in the past, forcing a change upon a healthcare system like that of America is impossible really. There is really no saying how much worse or how much better healthcare can look in the future for this country’s citizens, who can only hope for a change at the federal level.
Jonathan Saucedo • Jan 24, 2024 at 3:18 pm
Looks like I was wrong on the government part then, still the way the system works still doesn’t really benefit us too much sure we’re still standing but the damage is already done leading down to what no one in the world should go through. 🙁 Thanks for commenting I didn’t know any of this, the more you know!
Mrs. Gierzynski, sub • Jan 24, 2024 at 2:18 pm
Jonathan, it’s not the government that runs our healthcare–except for Medicare for the elderly. That’s why Progressives like Bernie Sanders have been pushing for “Medicare for all” for so long. That would be similar to what every other 1st world country in the world has. The government wants you back to work and paying taxes, so it has no reason to deny you care. Unfortunately, that means everyone has to pay into the system, and USA-ians are wont to think that when they’re young and healthy, they’re immortal–so no need for them to give up any of their pay for insurance they don’t think they’ll need–until they do need it and can’t afford it.
Instead, what we have here are huge health conglomerates that are filled with bean counters whose job it is to deny you care when it’s too expensive–when it cuts into the stockholders’ and top executives’ bonuses.
Jonathan Saucedo • Jan 18, 2024 at 6:29 pm
I also stated that, in my draft ofc I tried going down the route of explaining how we can’t really like make a change with social media or just protest in general. How I see it, it’s sorta like protest (or preaches) in America don’t really work or aren’t seen(we’ve seen it many times before or it just gets overlooked)
Jonathan Saucedo • Jan 18, 2024 at 6:27 pm
I’m glad you shared your story with us, this is the exact reason why I say healthcare does no more than hurts the citizens of America. I strongly believe that the government that controls the system really only cares about the income and not the outcome, it’s not said on here but I have seen many family members be pushed into debt from a trip to the hospital and can really take a huge toll on their daily lives it’s unfortunate maybe America really isn’t as great as they say they are 🙁
Mrs. Gierzynski, substitute teacher • Jan 18, 2024 at 4:44 pm
My late father came from Glasgow, Scotland, in the UK, where they have universal healthcare, as do all other 1st world countries, including our neighbor to the north, Canada. This means all working citizens pay into it, and everyone, including visitors from other countries, gets the treatment they need. But there’s no profit in it for anyone–no insurance companies denying anyone care.
My Aunt Cathy used to come visit us every other summer, when I was a kid. She’d stay with us for a few weeks. But once she had her first heart attack, my dad told her she couldn’t visit us anymore. He reminded her that if he was visiting her in Scotland, and HE had a heart attack, the only question they’d ask him as they admitted him to the hospital was if he wanted milk and sugar in his tea. But if SHE had a heart attack while visiting here, she had no insurance, so she’d get the worst of care, if any at all. And my dad would be billed to pay for it–full cost!
When some people point out that folks from around the world come to the USA for the very best care, what they leave out is that it’s RICH folks from all around the world, who don’t like being put into a “line” with everyone else–sometimes having to wait for their turn for care. Rich folks want it NOW, so they come here to jump to the head of the line–and because they can afford the astronomical costs easily.
Mr. Aiello • Jan 18, 2024 at 11:00 am
Healthcare is definitely a difficult issue for many Americans. While there are definitely problems with current systems, there are not many easy solutions either. Ultimately, plans are typically expensive because a large majority of the population is paying for a small group of very sick people. Complicated stuff. Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk.