Elizabeth Atencio

Engl 1120

Project 2: Position Paper

4 April 2022

Healthcare in America

Living in America, one thing that is collectively known is that healthcare will run your

pockets, from small out of pocket costs with insurance to much more with or without it. Even

though other countries have free healthcare, that is not the case with the United States. Part of

this is because the U.S. has more of a capitalist economy, compared to European countries that

have a socialist economy. There are also different factors but it doesn’t change the bottom line.

Healthcare in America is set to a point where people have to pay a lot of money, regardless if

they have insurance or not. If they do have insurance, people still have to pay a copay and or

completely pay for the care they received based on the type of care they received. People without

insurance have it much harder, having to pay the full price on everything. The problem for them

is that insurance is also too expensive sometimes, and they end up avoiding or not receiving

healthcare at all.

According to med city news.com, a survey collected information about Americans

affording and receiving healthcare, and reported that “About 18% said they would not”

(medcitynews.com). This also varied among demographics, putting blacks at 21%, Hispanics at

21%. This is pretty concerning considering that the U.S. “ranks last in a measure of health care

access and quality” (healthsystemtracker.org). It’s sad that this is a reality in a country that

claims and strives to be the ‘best country in the world.’ Not only do statistics and academic
journals prove that the system for health care is too expensive, but some shows and social media

posts talk about this issue. A popular show called, “Shameless” briefly goes over the fact that

healthcare is unaffordable many times. There are many points where the characters don’t pay

their medical bills for their visits, or do procedures on themselves because they can’t afford the

medical care they need. There is also a point in the show where two of the characters start a side

business giving some healthcare out of their van, and many people went to them because they

couldn’t afford it. These are good examples to demonstrate the harsh reality that many people

can’t afford health care and sometimes either avoid getting medical help all together or turn to

alternative methods to take care of themselves.

It’s universally known among Americans that the healthcare system is not actually geared

towards caring for American citizens as a whole. Some people argue that the healthcare system

has unique benefits. According to business insider, some benefits are that the U.S. has more

advanced research and equipment, especially in regards to cancer, and recipients can sue if they

receive malpractice (businessinsider.com). The article also mentions that the health care system

“…embraces the idea that you get what you pay for” (busniessinsider.com) which is pretty

ridiculous seeing that many hard working Americans still can’t afford healthcare. Some people

argue that there are too many “bums” but healthcare should be a fundamental human right since

we have the resources and technology to be able to give it. Many Americans know that

healthcare is too expensive in the U.S. Many people agree on this, and the fact that prescription

companies prioritize income over the care of people that they are providing for. Although there

are benefits to the health care system in America, they do not justify that a good proportion of

Americans cannot afford it; therefore not receiving it at all, or relying on other methods of health

care which can be worse in the long run.

 In an article for Harvard magazine, David Cutler talks about the reasons why healthcare

is so expensive in the U.S. He names three main reasons that it costs so much-administration,

greed, and higher utilization (Cutler). Cutler talks about the administration saying, “Whole

occupations exist in the U.S. medical care that are found nowhere else in the world, from

medical-record coding to claim-submission specialist” (Cutler). This is pretty ridiculous because

insurance companies have made things in a way where “every health insurer requires a different

bar-code-equivalent and payment-systems submission” (Cutler). Greed is pretty self-explanatory

because pharmaceutical companies and other tech companies raise the prices so high that they’re

guaranteed to make good profits. As for the higher utilization-“The United States has the most

technologically sophisticated medical system of any country” (Cutler). Utilization for

technologies like MRIs and surgeries runs up the cost more. These top three explanations could

be worked through and addressed though, for example, make payments and medical form

transfers simpler and target companies for their greed. It wouldn't do much but it would be a

start.

In conclusion, healthcare in America is too expensive. There are reasons for it, but not all

of them are entirely justified. Healthcare should be a human right, regardless of how much

someone works or makes. Americans agree that healthcare should either be cheaper or free,

because at one point, a good portion of Americans have probably run into problems with having

to pay for the medical care they received. People shouldn’t have to rely on alternative methods

for taking care of themselves or not receive any medical care at all.
 Works

https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2020/05/feature-forum-costliest-health-care

https://medcitynews.com/2021/04/survey-1-in-5-americans-cant-afford-necessary-care/

https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/quality-u-s-healthcare-system-compare-

countries/

https://www.businessinsider.com/10-reasons-why-the-us-health-care-system-is-the-envy-of-the-

world-2010-3#if-you-have-the-money-us-health-care-is-nonpareil-8