What is Health Care?
Health care, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), is a system by which quality health service is delivered to all people in a country. Every country has different methods of delivery, but all systems should have: adequate funding, well-trained employees, and maintained facilities to allow access to medicine and treatment.
Problems in the United States
According to Bloomberg, the United States ranks 46th in the world for most efficient health care. This ranking includes an average life expectancy of 78 years, and an average healthcare cost per capita of $8,608. This is 17.2% of America's GDP. In comparison, Hong Kong is rated number one, with an average healthcare cost of 3.8% of their GDP per capita.
America is paying almost four times more for health care that is not efficient for its growing population. Moreover, the American culture teaches us to only go to the doctor to be cured of disease, which is known as curative health care. Most other countries in the world have preventative care that teaches healthy living to prevent diseases. Preventive care usually yields a higher life expectancy.
The question is: why is the United States, a first world country with enormous wealth and political power, ranked between Iran and Serbia for efficient health care? Or, to reiterate, what prevents American citizens from receiving affordable health care?
Health care, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), is a system by which quality health service is delivered to all people in a country. Every country has different methods of delivery, but all systems should have: adequate funding, well-trained employees, and maintained facilities to allow access to medicine and treatment.
Problems in the United States
According to Bloomberg, the United States ranks 46th in the world for most efficient health care. This ranking includes an average life expectancy of 78 years, and an average healthcare cost per capita of $8,608. This is 17.2% of America's GDP. In comparison, Hong Kong is rated number one, with an average healthcare cost of 3.8% of their GDP per capita.
America is paying almost four times more for health care that is not efficient for its growing population. Moreover, the American culture teaches us to only go to the doctor to be cured of disease, which is known as curative health care. Most other countries in the world have preventative care that teaches healthy living to prevent diseases. Preventive care usually yields a higher life expectancy.
The question is: why is the United States, a first world country with enormous wealth and political power, ranked between Iran and Serbia for efficient health care? Or, to reiterate, what prevents American citizens from receiving affordable health care?