The Role of Government, Essay Example

The current state of health care delivery in the U.S. is far from perfect. Ironically, health care in America displays remarkable capabilities and possesses sufficient resources to address acute events (Kovner, Knickman & Jonas, 2008). In the meantime, thousands of Americans suffer the lack of affordable and available care. The current health care system fails to meet the demand for treating a wide range of chronic conditions. In the context of health care provision, America lags behind its advanced European “colleagues”.

I always knew that health care in the United States was more a privilege than essential individual right. That health care provision is a privilege of the wealthy is easy to see through the prism of the incredibly high medical costs, the lack of accessibility and availability of primary care, the existing and expanding social, ethnic, and racial disparities, and the lack of universal health care coverage. One of the recent articles by Leonhardt (2010) supports my viewpoint. The U.S. system of health care delivery is facing serious challenges. American families spend thousands of dollars on health care, through paycheck deductions, premiums, and out-of-pocket expenses (Leonhardt, 2010). Misdiagnosis is a common issue, and medical problems are more frequent than in other countries (Leonhardt, 2010). Millions of people do not have health insurance or are underinsured (Leonhardt, 2010). Put simply, the quality of health care provision in America is no better than in the countries that spend much less on health care (Leonhardt, 2010).

The need for restructuring is obvious, but what is the government’s role in it? “At the most fundamental level the role of a government is to provide the foundation for social interaction and mutual security” (McCarthy & Schafermeyer, 2004, p.446). Historically, government exerted minor influence on health issues; nor were the government’s health obligations stipulated in the Constitution. Today, America lacks a single, universally operating system of health care provision, and the government must initiate, implement, monitor, and control the standardization and systematization of health care provision at the federal level. The government must assume the central responsibility for the development and implementation of the universal medical care quality standards. Universal health insurance and management of health care disparities must become the government’s responsibility. Finally, all policy decisions must be evidence and research-based: the government must involve nurses and professional medical associations in the development of relevant, cost-effective care delivery solutions. In Europe, central planning has already proved to be the principal ingredient of efficient health care systems. In this way, the government will foster better quality and accessibility of health care and reinforce the vision of equity and affordability of high-quality medical services in the country.

References

Kovner, A.R., Knickman, J. & Jonas, S. (2008). Jonas and Kovner’s health care delivery in the United States. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Leonhardt, D. (2010). Health care’s uneven road to a new era. The New York Times. Retrieved November 3, 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/business/economy/06leonhardt.html?scp=15&sq=health%20care&st=cse

McCarthy, R.L. & Schafermeyer, K.W. (2004). Introduction to health care delivery: A primer for pharmacists. Jones & Bartlett Learning.