Does the United States Get the Best in Return for What We Invest in Healthcare?

Abstract

I first compared the healthcare strategies of the United States and other countries. The countries I looked at are Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. I found information on this objective through the Internet and Wolfgram Memorial library. The second objective I looked at our healthcare results compared to Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. The results I researched are life expectancy at birth, life expectancy at the age of 65 and infant morality. I found the information on the U.S. Census Bureau web site. The third and final objective I identified the problems of the rising expenditures and how to correct them so everyone can be insured. I found the information on the Internet, the medical practice web site and Jona's medical journal, which I located through Medline's database and retrieved it in Wolfgram Memorial library.

Introduction

My research topic is covering the United States healthcare system. The United States spends more of the GDP on healthcare then any other industrialized country in the world. Because of this one would think we provide one of the top universal healthcare plans for all our citizens without health insurance. Furthermore, our overall health system performance is 37 out of 191 (U.S. Census Bureau. 2003). Obviously 37 out of 191 is horrible especially because of what we invest. This problem affects a massive amount of Americans. Approximately 40 million Americans are without health insurance and because of the increasing expenditures the numbers of uninsured are only on the rise (McIntosh, Michael 2002). The United States healthcare system should be just as good or better then any other countries because of the money we invest. Every industrialized nation has some kind of basic healthcare system for all of their citizens (McIntosh, Michael 2002). My goal is to find out why we cannot at least provide some kind of basic coverage, as do other countries.

The United States has many factors to deal with in the healthcare crisis however; I will be covering four factors, which are to compare the healthcare strategies of the United States and other countries. The countries I will be looking at are Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. These countries provide a universal plan for all their citizens therefore I will research how exactly they achieve this goal and what the U.S. is doing wrong. The second objective is to look at our healthcare results, which will cover life expectancy at birth, life expectancy at the age of 65 and Infant mortality. These results will then be compared to Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. The third objective is to breakdown what the United States spends on healthcare. The fourth and final objective is to identify healthcare problems and why expenditures are continuing to rise. I will look at three main issues, which are the aging population, new technology, irresponsible employers and immigrates.

Background

In 1929 a medical plan was introduced between two physicians named Donald Roos and H. Clifford Loos and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. This agreement between the two became known as the Roos-Loos clinic plan; the plan provided medical insurance for the workers and families of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (Radich, Amy 2004). This idea laid the foundation for the idea of employer health insurance and over the years many other groups introduced this to many American workers and their families. The idea quickly spread throughout the country.

As the American stock market began to plummet in 1929, several American workers began to loose their jobs. The large loss of jobs caused a "chain reaction" through the American economy. U.S. workers and their families had no money to spend; therefore other businesses began to fall. This began the dreadful economic period known as the Great Depression. It was at this bleak time in U.S. history that the notion of a non-profit health care company was introduced. Initially, the state of Texas began a health care system for its citizens; know as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (Blue Cross, 2004).

In the same year Dr. Justin Ford Kimball became a hospital at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, Texas. Before his position of hospital administrator Dr. Kimball was on educator in the city of Dallas. Strangely, the experience of this man from his previous and current employment position helped him to become known as the "Genesis of modern Health Insurance"(Blue Cross, 2004). Kimball being aware of the low pays of teachers, as well as, recognizing some of his former colleges names in the unpaid accounts at the hospital; led him to an idea that became a milestone in United States health care. Dr. Justin Ford Kimball proposed that teachers pay .50 cents a month in advance to the hospital, which would allow the teachers to receive care at one hospital if ever needed in the future. This became known as the "Baylor Plan' and on 1944 this plan was merged into what is known as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Teas (Blue Cross, 2004). Blue Cross-and Blue Shield of Texas rapidly sparked interest into other states in the U.S. By 1934 Washington Hospital formed group hospitalization, Inc. other states quickly followed. In 1942 group Hospitalization, Inc. was sanctioned to use the Blue Cross service mark (Blue Cross, 2004).

The Second World War may have been a motivation force in the connection between employment and health insurance. Although the American government did not become involved in WWII until approximately 1941, mobilization for our involvement began much earlier. In preparation for our war involvement American employers started offering their employees health insurance as a benefit, in hopes to increase the companies employment. This idea decreased the likelihood that only the sick would enroll in health plans and it also decreased the administrative costs of individually sold plans. Due to the employer offered health care the country seen a tremendous jump in hospital enrollment. The number of citizens enrolled in hospitals increased from 7 million to 26 million, which was mainly held by Blue Cross. At the end of WWII many labor unions began to bargain for health benefits. The National Labor Relations Act required that management bargain with unions for health care benefits. The National Labor Relations act required that management bargain with unions over "wages and conditions of employment." The Supreme Court in 1940 ruled that benefit plans including health benefits fell under "conditions of employment."

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