Health Care Blog

Universal healthcare, being a human right, is a very controversial matter in the U.S. However, I think that it seems only obvious that everyone should be entitled to healthcare given that most people desire to maintain a positive health status. This issue is not a political ideological issue, nor is it a race or socioeconomic issue. This issue is due to the inability of the commander in chief, congress, and the senate to collectively construct a healthcare plan that will serve the entire population favorably and improve the health outcomes in the United States. This may even include possibly amending the constitution and making universal healthcare a human right. Comparing the United States to other countries that have amended universal healthcare to all citizens is an eye-opening comparison. Take for example, a country like Cuba, who has been appraised for having one of the best healthcare systems in the world by the World Health Organization (WHO). This is due to the fact that h...

Let’s set the stage. Winter in New York City on my honeymoon. You know how NYC is. Large, lots of walking, and cold in the winter. With all the walking and shivering from the cold, I ended up with a stiff back and hurt it when taking my luggage down from a rack. I couldn’t move. So, my newly-wedded husband rushed me to the emergency department of NYU Langone Health. After being administered a few pills, I was handed a hospital bill for $3000. As someone who grew up outside of US, it still astounds me how much healthcare costs in the US. It is well-known that the US has the most expensive healthcare system in the world. In 2015, the OECD estimated that over $9451 was spent per capita on healthcare in the United States, while average per capita healthcare expenditure globally was $3814. To compound on the cost, the problem is more complicated than anyone can comprehend. One would have to factor in administrative fees, physician salaries, more specialized fields, and many other reaso...

The Opioid epidemic has become one of America’s biggest health problem and drug crisis. In 2017 alone, more than 47,000 people overdosed on any opioid. Comparing this to the total number of people overdosing from any drug in 2017, which was more than 70,000, it is very striking. Not only is this a lot of people dying from overdosing, but this trend has only been increasing over the past decades. How could this have possibly happened though? This epidemic started to occur when there was a rise in global prescription opioids in the 1990s. The increased number of prescription of opioids occured as pharmaceutical companies assured healthcare providers and healthcare agencies that opioids were not addictive and that they can actually help cure the most difficult to treat types of pain. However, this was blatantly untrue, which lead to increased diversion and misuse of these medications. As the number of prescriptions of opioids increased, so did opioid overdose rates. I...

Several decades ago, Canada implemented universal health-care, which still thrives to this day. Through this system, Canadians collectively pay for medical care through taxes to obtain rightful access to health care. As a proud Canadian, I am a strong supporter of this system. Although Canada’s health care system has proven to be very effective, it is still unfortunately criticized by many. Over the years, Canada has implemented an additional system to seek health care through the adoption of private health-care clinics. I personally believe that private health in Canada pose a threat to our country.  I believe the use of private health care clinics does not give everyone an equal chance and opposes Canada’s values.  Canadians take pride in our belief that health care is provided on the basis of need, rather than the basis of being able to pay; we see health care as a right, rather than a privilege. A large percentage of the Canadian population cannot afford patient-...

Political opinions aside, I think that most can agree that the health care system in the United States is very inefficient and costly compared to other health systems globally and needs major reform. I personally like the idea of a single payer health insurance in principal, but I also think that a system like this in America could have major unintended consequences. As it stands today, and for much of history, the United States has paid for the development of most medical devices and drugs. As we have seen in the first lectures, we pay a premium for this and by far spend the most on healthcare.   We also have some of the best and most diverse medical specialists in the world. Without the large amount of private sector spending in America, would healthcare even have developed into what it is today? It could be argued that many of the other countries with universal healthcare are reaping the benefits of the US healthcare system, but at a significantly lower cost. Taking the US to ...

Inside and outside of the United States, it is shocking to many that the US remains one of the few countries in the world that does not provide universal healthcare to its citizens. While the United States does provide government funded insurance through its Medicare and Medicaid programs, most individuals under the age of 65 and who live above the poverty line receive insurance coverage from a private payer. The idea of moving to a single-payer system seems frightening to many, who cite infringement on personal freedoms (i.e. socialism) and increased taxation to fund the system as major deterrents to making the switch to universal healthcare. It is interesting to me that other government funded programs, such as social security that provides income to retired or disabled Americans, are so well received while universal healthcare, a system that stands to benefit the American people in a similar manner is constantly met with backlash. People are very comfortable with the idea of social...

Healthcare in the United States is always in a constant state of change due to its connection to politics. When looking at global healthcare, what stands out to me the most is that several countries around the world provide a constant level of healthcare to their citizens despite changes in their political structure—especially those countries providing universal healthcare to their citizens. One of the main factors that drives the conversation surrounding this topic is whether healthcare is human right or not. While the United States continues to go back and forth regarding issues in our broken healthcare system such as funding for Medicare and Medicaid for which there is no general agreement, other countries have taken the politics out of healthcare and are deciding on ways to provide the best and most optimal services for their patients to improve both outcomes and perceptions. In a lot of ways, the US has a lot of catching up to do, but why is this the case? Is the Unit...