HSCI710 Essy Comparative analysis Analysis

Name

Liberty University

10/27/2022 

Comparative Analysis

Introduction

The United States healthcare system is always different compared to other industrialized and developed countries. The United States' healthcare system stands out as extremely inventive when compared to other highly developed, industrialized countries. There is no national healthcare system, no national healthcare coverage, and no consistent law requiring healthcare coverage for all Americans (Blank, 2012). Rather than being a single-payer or multi-payer national health insurance system, the United States health care system is better thought of as a mix between these two models. Due to the fact that the United States has just recently passed legislation that aims to mandate healthcare coverage for practically every person, the country does not yet have a standard health system or universal healthcare coverage (Blank, 2012). The united states

Cost

The United States is often recognized as having the most expensive healthcare in the world, even though the rate of healthcare spending has declined over time. Market forces are primarily to blame for the high cost of healthcare in the United States. Hospital treatment accounts for 31% of healthcare spending, while prescription drug prices are high and largely uncontrolled, and physician wages are more significant than in other Western countries (Pearson et al., 2017). The administrative regulations for invoicing and coding add to the overall price. The rising cost of health insurance has meant that the purchasing power of the typical American has stayed flat, despite a general pay increase (Pearson et al., 2017).

Quality

In Kyoon Achan’s et al. (2021) research, the United States of America has the highest healthcare costs of any developed country but has among the lowest quality rankings. It is generally agreed that U.S. healthcare is on par with other industrialized countries. Six in ten U.S. citizens (15%) and a slightly more significant proportion (23%) do not consider the American healthcare system among the world’s best. Americans with lower household incomes give medical care in the United States lower ratings than those with higher incomes (Kyoon Achan et al., 2021). People with yearly household incomes under $30,000 are more likely than those with higher incomes to rate the quality of healthcare in the United States as average or below average compared to other industrialized nations. Comparatively, fifty per cent of Americans who make $100,000 or more annually believe that American healthcare is the best in the world or above average (Kyoon Achan et al., 2021).

Access

Stall’s et al. (2020) study provides that access to healthcare was restricted due to the Affordable Care Act’s implementation in 2019 when the United States healthcare system recorded a decline in the number of citizens with healthcare insurance coverage. This was because obtaining medical services without insurance cover was more expensive (Stall et al., 2020). Many citizens have limited access to medical cover and are forced to use cash each time they need healthcare services. The low-income citizens are the most affected of all when they can not access quality healthcare.

Germany

Cost

As articulated in Makuch-Fedorkova’s (2018) research, Germany has a world-class healthcare system that is also surprisingly affordable. About two hundred and forty individual insurers make up the public option. In Germany, 90% of citizens have health coverage through non-profit “sickness funds,” while 10% have private health insurance. Healthcare costs per capita are nearly half the U.S. average. Compared to the United States, Germany excels in keeping costs under check. The healthcare cost-controlling systems that Germany and the United States rely on ultimately benefit Germany (Makuch-Fedorkova, 2018). While the cost of health insurance in Germany is higher than in some other countries on the Index, the German people place a high value on having a variety of insurers and providers from which to choose, and they are well-informed about how to allocate their health care budget.

Quality

Germany’s healthcare system is comprehensive and stable, earning it a third place on the World Index of Healthcare Innovation (after the Netherlands and ahead of Ireland) with an overall score of 59.79 (Makuch-Fedorkova, 2018). Germany ranked first in the Index’s Fiscal Sustainability and Choice categories largely because of its balanced budget amendment and many private-sector payers and providers. Germany also placed eighth in S&T (37.69) and thirteenth in quality (52.73). Medical professionals operate as independent businesspeople, billing patients' health care plans for services rendered (Kirchhof, 2020). There are, nevertheless, stringent rules governing their use. Across the country, groups of doctors who practice out of offices negotiate annual budgets with health insurance providers (Makuch-Fedorkova, 2018). In order to avoid losing funding, doctors must not exceed these limits. Compared to their American counterparts, German doctors earn roughly $123,000 annually or about a third less.

Access

Germany, the most significant healthcare market in Europe, frequently has quicker access to new treatments than its neighbors and has the best access to biosimilars in the Index. Notably, Germany does better than the U.S. regarding access to new treatments, given the country’s relatively successful drug cost control (Rajfur & Hys, 2018). The German pharmaceutical industry has monopoly pricing for the first year following marketing approval. However, after that, they have to negotiate prices with the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds. That is to say, the drug company’s monopoly pricing power is mitigated by the insurers' ability to engage in collective bargaining.

Canada

Cost

All citizens and permanent residents of Canada have access to affordable healthcare.

There are few overhead expenses, and the procedure is straightforward. In the United States, “virtually no preapproval, adjudication, or other impediments that patients and physicians commonly confront” exist, and doctors are “reimbursed rapidly and fully, with low collection fees.” Patients do not have to worry about hefty out-of-pocket costs or unclear medical bills. Because of this, people may get the care they need without worrying about exhausting their savings or declaring bankruptcy to pay for it (Kirchhof, 2020). The health benefits are tremendous. Almost of Canadians visit their family doctor regularly. With only 10.3% of GDP devoted to healthcare, ahead of the United States at 17.8%, the country maintains a top-tier global rating.

Quality

Canada has a dynamic, publically funded healthcare system in that reforms have been made over the past few years to make healthcare more affordable and accessible. However, some insurances like PBMS make that impossible by making patients battle for access to medicine when they should fight to treat their illnesses (Rajfur & Hys, 2018). Three PBMs from insurance companies act as if they are in charge of 80% of patients' medications. They use their market power to obtain billions of dollars in drug rebates and discounts, which should go to patients instead. More than fifty cents of every dollar spent on name-brand medications will be distributed among payers, intermediaries, providers, and other parties in 2020. Insurers and their PBMs decide which medicines are covered and how much you will pay for each one (Rajfur & Hys, 2018). Despite what your medical professionals may have told you. You have to fight them for your medication instead of your illness.

Access

The OECD agrees that Canada is among the countries that provide its population with access to high-quality medical care. All Canadians are covered by the National Health Insurance (NHI) system (a government run health insurance system covering the entire population for a well-defined medical benefits package). Everyone has the option to buy health insurance. General taxation supports the single-payer NHI system (only one third-party payer is responsible for paying health care providers for medical services).

Analysis Of The U.S. Health System In Light Of ACA

In 2010, President Obama changed the Affordable Care Act in the United States by signing it into law (Makuch-Fedorkova, 2018). Its stated goals included improving access to insurance, strengthening consumer safeguards, and attempting to rein down spiraling healthcare prices. A lack of political will on the part of the federal government has allowed healthcare expenses in the United States to rise essentially uncontrolled (Makuch-Fedorkova, 2018). It is important to note that the status quo was kept to promote competition among insurers and healthcare providers, despite the ACA’s emphasis on ensuring access to healthcare. Individuals should prepare for the healthcare crisis of 2020 and 2021 by shopping for the best health insurance plan possible (Makuch-Fedorkova, 2018).

Suggestion For Improvement

In order to come up with solutions to having quality accessible and affordable healthcare, policies have to be implemented to curb these challenges. The national health service and the national health insurance system are salaried by government co-operations to establish dependability to improve the access and cost of receiving healthcare. The potential benefits of telemedicine are enormous (Rajfur & Hys, 2018). It has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry, especially in underserved areas where hospitals are often underfunded, and communities are far apart. In the ten years before the pandemic, 20% of rural hospitals in the U.S. had closed, and another 50% were in danger of doing the same. The threat was already high before Covid-19 was released (Rajfur & Hys, 2018).

Telemedicine alters the dynamics of this situation. Through telehealth, patients in rural areas access experts like neonatologists, neurologists, and cardiologists without moving to larger, more distant facilities. The local hospital keeps most of the money, and the patient gets to stay home with family and friends (Makuch-Fedorkova, 2018). That is great news for rural hospitals and their communities, as healthcare facilities are frequently the top employers in these areas. It is recommended that patients with acute and chronic clinical diseases have access to hospitallevel care at home. However, as of spring 2021, only around 116 “Hospital at Home” programs were available across the country (Blank, 2012). Based on preliminary national research, providing hospital-level care at home is 19% cheaper than conventional hospital care, with equivalent or better outcomes (Rajfur & Hys, 2018).

Biblical Perspective

Biblical view on the world of health involves the use of the laws of God since it teaches that the dynamics of health and sickness are based on rules made by God. The Bible scriptures (Exodus 15:26, Deuteronomy 7:12-14) show that good health is brought about by obedience to the laws of God, while sickness results from disobedience to these laws.

Christians should work for the good of their communities by advocating for the poor and tending to the ill (Jeremiah 29:7, Micah 6:8, Matthew 25:36). What does this entail for Christians in the United States today? This entails eliminating health disparities between people of different socioeconomic backgrounds. It ensures that someone without health insurance will not perish from an infection that could have been treated with a ten-dollar course of antibiotics. This means that a person should not have to decide between buying food and buying medication that could save their life.

It has been shown time and again that there is a correlation between financial stability and health. A recent study indicated that health expectancies between persons who live in better and lower socioeconomic counties could differ by approximately two decades. A lower socioeconomic status correlates with poor health in the United States. One of the discouraging realities is that the United States has enough money to provide healthcare for all its citizens.

However, the issue has become so politicized that few people believe it. The topic of preserving lives and preventing sickness divides political parties. No Christian can afford to shrug off the seriousness of these consequences; they should motivate them to take action. Christians should abandon their political affiliations and advocate for a healthcare system where all individuals can access affordable, high-quality care. However, like with all ethically good endeavors, it comes at a cost. All Christians have a responsibility to help one another (Galatians 6:2).

Conclusion

Canada is the leading country in providing healthcare in terms of quality and accessibility. However, the united states are the top country in the cost of healthcare since it is the most expensive, and on the other hand, provides a below average healthcare quality. Germany is more or less similar in healthcare provision to the united states If not for the accessibility in which it has more medical insurance than the united states. A biblical approach entails that poor health is brought about by disobedience of the Laws of God, while good health pertains to obedience to the Laws of God. The countries Canada, Germany, and the United States do not provide quality healthcare as it is pretty challenging to achieve. However, the nations are working on remedies to offer quality, affordable and accessible healthcare to their citizens.

References

Blank, R. H. (2012). Transformation of the US Healthcare System: Why is change so difficult?

Current Sociology, 60(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392112438327

Kirchhof, P. (2020). A tale of two countries: How decentralized organization and longterminvestment build resilient healthcare systems. In European Heart Journal - Quality of

Care and Clinical Outcomes (Vol. 6, Issue 3). https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjqcco/qcaa036

Kyoon Achan, G., Eni, R., Kinew, K. A., Phillips-Beck, W., Lavoie, J. G., & Katz, A. (2021). The Two Great Healing Traditions: Issues, Opportunities, and Recommendations for an Integrated First Nations Healthcare System in Canada. Health Systems and Reform, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23288604.2021.1943814

Makuch-Fedorkova, I. (2018). The origins of canada healthcare system and key principles for its effectiveness. Current Issues of Social Sciences and History of Medicine, 0(4). https://doi.org/10.24061/2411-6181.4.2018.84

Pearson, S. D., Dreitlein, W. B., Henshall, C., & Towse, A. (2017). Indication-specific pricing of pharmaceuticals in the US healthcare system. Journal of Comparative Effectiveness

Research, 6(5). https://doi.org/10.2217/cer-2017-0018

Rajfur, P., & Hys, K. (2018). Management of the healthcare system in Germany and France.

Medical Science Pulse, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0012.7213

Stall, N. M., Farquharson, C., Fan-Lun, C., Wiesenfeld, L., Loftus, C. A., Kain, D., Johnstone, J.,

McCreight, L., Goldman, R. D., & Mahtani, R. (2020). A Hospital Partnership with a

Nursing Home Experiencing a COVID-19 Outbreak: Description of a Multiphase

Emergency Response in Toronto, Canada. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 68(7). https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.16625