Expensive Healthcare And Modern Day Unemployment

Healthcare in the US is twice as expensive as in any other developed country. Unemployment is a serious personal and social issue. It is economic and social problem labor not used for production means output loss and decrease of consumption in a society.

Why is Healthcare so Expensive?

The cost of healthcare is a huge financial burden for every household because of lost wages, higher premiums, taxes and additional out of pocket expenses.

US is famous for overspending on health care, nation spent 17.8% of its GDP on health care. The US spent $9,403 per capita that’s nearly double what the others spent.

The question is why health care is so expensive? In the US doctors get paid more, drugs are more expensive, hospital services and diagnostic tests cost more.

At administrative level money goes to managing, regulating and planning medical services.

One quarter of the healthcare cost is associated with administration which is higher than in any other country, this is the main reason why healthcare costs are so high.

Administrative costs accounted for 8% of total national health expenditures in the US.

Another major difference in health costs in every developed nation is cost of drugs. In most countries government negotiates drug prices with the drug makers but when Medicare was created it totally denied the right to use the power to negotiate drug prices.

The US spent $1,443 per capita on pharmaceuticals.

Yet another big reason for expensive healthcare is the practice of defensive medicine. Doctors order multiple tests even when they know what the diagnosis is because they are afraid they will get sued if they are uncertain about anything.

When it comes to healthcare it also includes staffing and wages cost. Specialists, nurses and primary care doctors will earn more in the US compared to other countries.

In the US the general physician’s salary that is $218,173 is double the average of generalists in other countries.

Modern Day Unemployment:

Recent economic data shows that the US unemployment rates has fallen possibly easing recession worries. Labor Department figures showed that the rate fell to 3.5% from 3.7% with the addition of 168,000 jobs last month.

When a worker is unemployed, nation as a whole loses their contribution to the economy in terms of the goods or services that could have been produced.

Unemployment affects those who are still employed as when workers are let go it increases the amount of work for those who are still employed and they have to cover it.

Unemployment usually increases when companies are trying to cut costs, because if someone is working extra they are expected to get additional compensation for extra hours they worked.

When they are not receiving any kind of appreciation they may become concerned about losing their jobs or to look for something better.

If a person is unemployed, self-employed or has low income health insurance is very important that a person can afford in this expensive healthcare and modern unemployment world.

The cost of healthcare continues to rise. It is very important to learn how one can limit out of pocket health care costs. Everyone should learn how to save money and still receive the care we need.

These tips can help every individual to get the most from benefits and save money on care:

1. Save Money On Medicines:

There are few ways to cut costs on medicines. One can ask health care provider if he can switch to generic medicines, they have the same active ingredient but cost less than brand name drugs.

Also ask yourself care provider if there is a less expensive medicine that treats the same condition.

2. Use Your Benefits:

Get routine health screenings. Tests can catch health problems early which may be treated more easily. Use free and discounted services.

3. Plan Ahead For Urgency And Emergency Care:

When an injury or illness occurs, one need to decide how serious it is and how soon to get medical care. It will definitely help to choose that whether we need to go to an urgent clinic care, or get an emergency care or we can just call our provider.

Plan ahead by knowing which urgent care centre is near you. Learn how to recognize an emergency in adults and in a child.

4. Choose In-Network Health Care Providers:

It totally depends on our health coverage that whether we have to see providers who are in network or those who are totally out of network.

Providers who are in-network charge lower rates because they have a contract with our health plan and we may less to them.

5. Take Care Of Your Health:

A simple way to save money on health care is to stay healthy. That is sometimes easier said than done. But staying at a healthy weight, getting regular exercise and not smoking lower risks for health problems.

When we are healthy we can avoid costly tests and treatments for conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

Conclusion:

In the US an estimate of 22% of the population has missed a consultation because they could not afford it. Americans also had the lowest rate of coverage, about 10% of the population did not have health insurance.

Since the Affordable Care Act was passed the percentage of the population with health insurance has increased. Act highlights on how the US health care system compares to its peers and the fact that the cost of labor, pharmaceuticals and administrative organization seems to be driving spending.

It also focuses on that, despite a high level of spending, too many of its citizens remain uncovered. The quality of care may not be worse in the US than elsewhere but the nation was still shown to be the least accessible health care system.

This means that the quality of care is not that bad, but that care does not reach everyone.

The government should analyze the prices and cut where possible. As the US continues to struggle with high health care spending, it is critical that they can make progress on reducing these costs.