The United States has a health care system that reflects the values, beliefs and cultural norms of its society. The ideals of capitalism, free enterprise and the desire to be involved in cutting edge medicine and technology are all inherent characteristics that have been critical in the development of the current health care system. These foundational characteristics, however, have also created a health care crisis resulting in increased cost for health care, inequities in access to health care and a fragmented infrastructure.
One of the major problems with the United States health care system is cost. The United States spent over 3 trillion dollars on health care in 2014 (Martin, Hartman, Benson, Catlin, & National Health Expenditure Accounts …show more content…
A principal factor that affect a person’s access to health care is the ability to obtain insurance. One of the most important pieces of health care reform legislation since the adoption of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, the Affordable Care Act of 2010 encouraged health insurance coverage through federal and state exchanges, Medicaid expansion, and other regulations that expand coverage (Kilgour, 2015). Unfortunately, this legislation made access difficult for low- and middle-income families who are not eligible for Medicaid. For example, high deductibles and co-pays prevent many of these families from getting necessary care, and the impending medical debt, despite insurance coverage, predicts reduced access to care (Angier et al., 2014). Another factor that impacts individuals and the health care system is access to adequate, quality primary care which leads to over utilization of emergency rooms and frequent readmissions to hospitals. This has become very costly to the health care system since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began assessing the value of services a healthcare organization provides in relation to the overall rate of preventable admissions (Patel, Vakharia, Pile, Howell, & Rothberg,