Health Care Costs and Affordability in the USA

Over recent years, there has been an outcry over the rise of health care charges among many individuals globally. Brouwer et al. (2018) have argued that expensive technological advancements, strain from raised insurance costs, and high taxes have increased health care charges. Dieleman et al. (2017) have shown that high deductible amounts from insurance companies, technology, high unit prices, and an increase in the prices of drugs and professional services have raised health care expenses. The authors also argue that the increase in chronic diseases among people has raised the health care expenditure. Thus, the cost of technology, drugs, professional consultation, treatment of chronic diseases, and unit prices need to be included in the health care expenses.

Failure to include the cost of these fundamental health care services prevents efficient health access to the people. Because of the low financial levels, the under-insured or uninsured people cannot decide to undergo technological tests, buy drugs, consult, and have other health-related services. According to Donaldson (2017), underinsured or uninsured individuals have a substantial challenge to access affordable quality health. The decision to decide if I will get the high-cost health service depends on the severity of my illness. If I am not too sick and the service charge is raised, I would rather not perform under it.

However, I will resolve to find cheaper and alternative services which could benefit me. If I am too sick, and I have no alternative but to undergo the high-cost procedure, the cost of the treatment would be incurred to my family. At this moment, my life would matter more than the cost incurred by seeking good health. If I have the chance of naturally recovering without having the higher health charge implicated to myself and my family, I will opt for it.

References

Brouwer, W., van Baal, P., van Exel, J., & Versteegh, M. (2018). When is it too expensive? Cost-effectiveness thresholds and health care decision-making. The European Journal of Health Economics, 20(2), 175–180. Web.

Dieleman, J. L., Squires, E., Bui, A. L., Campbell, M., Chapin, A., Hamavid, H., Horst, C., Li, Z., Matyasz, T., Reynolds, A., Sadat, N., Schneider, M. T., & Murray, C. J. L. (2017). Factors associated with increases in us health care spending, 1996-2013. JAMA, 318(17), 1668. Web.

Donaldson, K. (2017). Improving Access to Resources for the Medically Uninsured and Underinsured Recommended Citation. Web.