the Unhealthy State of Healthcare in the U.S

The problem with healthcare in the U.S. in the 21^st Century is that all the good intentions of medical professionals are continually being undermined by politicians and the insurance industry. The objectives in government-sponsored initiatives such as People 2010 seem reasonable, but the profit-motive and seemingly misguided notions that government is becoming too big and too intrusive is damaging the opportunity for more Americans to be insured. Of course, there is a second major area of concern, not merely insurance coverage. That is the unhealthy life-styles which cause such serious life-endangering effects such as obesity, especially childhood obesity, leading to serious medical problems and extensive and expensive treatments for heart disease and diabetes.

Combining these two major problem areas, Reinberg (2010) quotes health survey authors as making a forceful point about glaring gaps in the U.S. health care system, where we fall far behind other countries on many measures of access, quality, efficiency and health outcomes. The article quotes the survey's findings that the U.S. spent far more than $7,500 per capita in 2008, more than twice what other countries spend that cover everyone, and is on a continued upward trend that is unsustainable. "We are clearly not getting good value for the substantial resources we allot to health care " (Reinberg, 2010 para.5).

The Healthy People 2010 initiative, which is proposing steps for the next ten years to improve health care in this country focuses particularly on increasing the proportion of people on health insurance: " this objective makes critical steps towards comprehensive access to and availability of health care services to all Americans" (APTA, 2009, para. 1).

This promise has so far not been kept, and the U.S. continues to lag behind many other Western nations. The so-called "Obamacare" health legislation may be a first, if uncertain step, in remedying the situation. As Seinberg (2010) explains, The recently approved Affordable Care Act will help close these gaps. It is expected that the new law will assure access to affordable health care coverage to 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured, and improve benefits and financial protection for those who have coverage. The article provides interesting and somewhat discouraging statistics about American health care: "In the United States, 33 percent of adults went without recommended care or drugs because of the expense, compared with 5 percent in the Netherlands and 6 percent in the United Kingdom" (Seinberg, 2010, para.7).

While this article explains that more American have easy access to specialists, it is the costs of health insurance that prevents even people who have some insurance from seeing doctors because they are afraid they cannot afford treatment. "Only 58 percent of U.S. patients -- the lowest rate of the survey -- were confident they could afford the care they needed" (Seinberg, 2010, para.20).

One can easily see that, while the technology is there, the cost and the lack of confidence in coverage and/or ability to pay continues to plague the overall health and health system. The Healthy People 2020 objectives are certainly reasonable. They include the factors that impact access to health care, such as "Overall physical, social, and mental health status, Prevention of disease and disability, Detection and treatment of health conditions. Quality of life, Preventable death and Life expectancy" ("Topics & Objectives Index, 2011 para. 3).

The article quotes professionals as expecting the Affordable Care Act to provide the sort of relief, financially and coverage-wise, that is now lacking. But, as current events are showing, the Republican majority in the House and the skewed public opinion polls which are highlighted on the most-watched cable networks like Fox may make it difficult to close the loopholes and strengthen the positive aspects of health legislation. So, sadly, the American Health Care system remains lagging behind other Western nations only because it has become a political, rather than a wellness issue.

References: APTA Response to AHS HP2020-1: retrieved Feb. 9, 2011 from

www. healthypeople .gov / Healthy People 2010 archive

Healthy People 2020 website: www.healthypeople.gov

Reinberg, S. (2010): On health policies, U.S. lags other

Nations: survey U.S. News and World Report, Nov. 18,

2010