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Reports of hospital, nursing home, and community-based healthcare staff shortages due to increased healthcare worker turnover, burnout, lack of support for dependent family members, illness, and death during the COVID-19 PHE have raised concerns about whether the United States has the capacity to deliver safe, high-quality care.
- 2023/12
Exploring the reasons for this trend can provide insights for where the United States can improve healthcare delivery and associated outcomes, particularly trends in premature death and disease-related death, which are explored below.
- 2022/10
- The Cost Is Enormous
- Access Is Uneven
- Investments in Healthcare seem Misdirected
- No Simple Solution
High cost, not highest quality. Despite spending far more on healthcare than other high-income nations, the US scores poorly on many key health measures, including life expectancy, preventable hosp...Financial burden.High costs combined with high numbers of underinsured or uninsured means many people risk bankruptcy if they develop a serious illness. Prices vary widely, and it's nearly impossib...Health insurance tied to employment. During World War II, healthcare was offered as a way to attract workerssince employers had few other options. Few people had private insurance then, but now a l...Healthcare disparities. The current US healthcare system has a cruel tendency to delay or deny high-quality care to those who are most in need of it but can least afford its high cost. This contrib...Health insurers may discourage care to hold down costs. Many health insurance companies restrict expensive medications, tests, and other services by declining coverage until forms are filled out to...Emphasizing technology and specialty care. Our system focuses on disease, specialty care, and technology rather than preventive care. During my medical training, I received relatively little instru...Overemphasizing procedures and drugs.Here's one example: A cortisone injection for tendinitis in the ankle is typically covered by health insurance. A shoe insert that might work just as well may n...Stifling innovation. Payment structures for private or government-based health insurance can stifle innovative healthcare delivery. Home-based treatments, such as some geriatric care and cancer car...Fragmented care.One hallmark of US healthcare is that people tend to get care in a variety of settings that may have little or no connection to each other. That can lead to duplication of care, poo...Even insured Americans spend more out of pocket for their healthcare than people in most other wealthy nations. Some resort to purchasing medications from other countries where prices are far lower. The status quo may be acceptable to healthcare insurers, pharmaceutical companies, and some healthcare providers who are rewarded handsomely by it, but...
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Many times, our healthcare system distributes services inefficiently and unevenly across populations. Some Americans receive worse care than others. These disparities may occur for a variety of reasons, including differences in access to care, social determinants, provider biases, poor provider-patient communication, and poor health literacy.
- 2021/12
Sep 19, 2024 · The U.S. ranks as the worst performer among 10 developed nations in critical areas of health care, according to a startling new report from The Commonwealth Fund.
- Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
Sep 25, 2024 · Analysis. Report: U.S. spends the most on health but outcomes are among the worst. Joseph Burns. September 25, 2024. Photo by Anna Shvets via Pexels. In this election year, a new report shows it’s well beyond time for journalists and voters to hold politicians accountable for the poor quality of America’s health care system.
People also ask
Is the United States a poor health care provider?
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What is the National Healthcare Quality & Disparities Report 2023?
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The newly released 2022 NHQDR is the broadest, deepest, and most comprehensive yearly account of the state of American healthcare—and it crystalizes the achievements and challenges we face, especially among racial and ethnic minorities and underserved communities.
