About the Healthcare in America and Globally

My history with American healthcare

Seemed to be satisfactory until recently, when, though engrossed in choosing college courses, I skipped the deadline for health benefits. Unfortunately for me, I began to experience leg pains and respiratory difficulties a few weeks later. My legs swelled and turned purple. I was afraid of going to a hospital and I didn't have insurance and couldn't work out how to cover the bill. For a few days, I wished the agony away by getting over-the-counter pain relievers. Fortunately for me, I found that I could get a discount at a nearby clinic, so I headed to the hospital. The doctors found a blood clot in my leg, and to my relieve they were able to treat me. But I had to part with $12,000 for my medical bills.

Advantages of the American healthcare system

Other than the insurance policy and the cost of healthcare, I still consider that the US has one of the best systems in the world. America boasts of having highly skilled medical practitioners and facilities. Therefore, of the complex disorders can be easily detected and cured. Also, the Unites States has been able to eradicate some of the diseases such as malaria, polio, cholera, among many others. Furthermore, the infant mortality rate in the country has been significantly reduced.

Disadvantages of the American healthcare system

The main disadvantage of the American healthcare system is that it is costly. Majority of the citizens, in my opinion, cannot afford insurance and consequently stay at homes wishing for their sickness to go away as they fear humongous hospital bills. Also, there has been a lot of cases of misdiagnosis in the United States system. Furthermore, I believe a majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the state healthcare system as a whole.

Solutions for the American healthcare system

I consider that the United States should borrow something from the British healthcare insurance. Britons do not have to worry about the cost of the medical assistance as the government covers all their hospital services. Also, the authority relieves employers the stress of providing the employees with health insurance coverage. Consequently, the British focus on preventive healthcare as their citizens present themselves to the hospital early, therefore they act to little issues before they become big and complicated.

I worry that in future the healthcare system in the United States might continue to be expensive, while the actual medical assistance is deteriorated, causing individuals to go outside the country to seek therapeutic attention. Consequently, the less affluent citizens will suffer as they will have to visit the overpriced hospitals characterized by the poor service delivery, since they cannot afford to travel out of the country for medical treatment. I am also worried about the number of retiring doctors with few young ones for replacement. Recently I have heard of the cases concerning misdiagnoses and misinterpretation of lab results, which, I suspect, come as an outcome of a failure in our medical universities.

I would recommend that the government should look at ways of ensuring that modern technologies are incorporated into the system to enhance efficiency and reduce human errors. Also, I would propose that the executive authority benchmarks with other nations that are successful in providing quality and affordable healthcare. Moreover, the government should even move from the fee-for-service model which promotes the awarding of the number of the offered services other than the quality of their delivery. The focus of our healthcare system, to my mind, should be the excellence of medical assistance at an affordable cost to all citizens.