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Access to Care in the Usa

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Access to Healthcare in the United States

Many would argue that here, in the United States, we have the best healthcare in the world. We benefit from the most up to date medical technologies, medications, and services. People come from every corner of the world to take advantage of our top notch physicians and facilities. One would questin is this reputation warranted, and if so, at what cost? These costs rank us among the highest of industrialized nations (Lundy, 2010). Does this high expenditure equate to better outcomes? According to the National Scorecard on US Health System Performance (2008), the US received a 65 out of 100 possible points. Compared with 19 other industrialized nations, the US came in last place in preventable mortality. Preventable mortality means just that, deaths which could have been prevented if “timely and effective care” could have been provided (The Commonwealth Fund on a High Performance Health System, 2008). In 2000, the World Health Organization performed their first ever comparison of the health systems of the world. They reviewed 191 different countries and ranked them on numerous parameters, the United States ranked 37th for overall health system performance (WHO, 2000). Is it that our healthcare system is truly that poor, or is it that our care is only excellent for those patients who can actually afford it? A universal healthcare system would not only provide healthcare for all, it could also decrease our healthcare spending and potentially produce better health outcomes.

High quality and less expensive healthcare can be achieved with a universal healthcare model. In fact, the United States is the only industrialized nation that does not have universal healthcare. France, the United Kingdom, and Canada are but a few of the countries which view healthcare as a right, not a privilege. How can these nations afford healthcare

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