User:Smg02/Healthcare in the United States

Editing Plan: With the current set up of the article, the Lead Section encompasses too much detail and includes information that should be moved into subsections of the article. I plan to help rearrange the article so that the presentation makes more sense and isn’t introducing too many ideas at once.

The history section also seems to have a lack of information given the very complicated history of Healthcare in the U.S.

anyssa.pat edits: add more information under equity, demographic differences, tying in medical inaccessibility and recent solutions that have risen due to the increasing difficulty to medical equipment access for certain populations. * my additions will be bold and underlined* 

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Lead
Healthcare in the United States is subject to far higher levels of spending than any other nation, measured both in per capita spending and as a percentage of GDP. Despite this, the country has significantly worse healthcare outcomes when compared to peer nations. The US is the only developed nation without a system of universal healthcare, with a large proportion of its population not carrying health insurance, a substantial factor in the country's excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Healthcare is provided by many distinct organizations, made up of insurance companies, healthcare providers, hospital systems, and independent providers. Healthcare facilities are largely owned and operated by private sector businesses. 58% of community hospitals in the US are nonprofit, 21% are government-owned, and 21% are for-profit. With this setup, a 2017 survey of the healthcare systems of 11 developed countries found the US healthcare system to be the most expensive and worst-performing in terms of health access, efficiency, and equity. In a 2018 study, the US ranked 29th in healthcare access and quality.

''The rate of adults uninsured for healthcare stood at 13.7% in the fourth quarter of 2018, based on surveys by the Gallup organization beginning in 2008. At over 27 million, the number of people without health insurance coverage in the US is one of the primary concerns raised by advocates of healthcare reform. In 2010, the ACA (formally known as the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" and commonly known as "Obamacare") became law, enacting major changes in health insurance. The Supreme Court of the US upheld the constitutionality of most of the law in June 2012 and affirmed insurance exchange subsidies in all states in June 2015.''

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that the US is achieving 81.3% of what should be possible at their income level for fulfilling the right to health.

At the same time, the United States is the leader in medical innovation, measured either in terms of revenue or the number of new drugs and devices introduced.

History
Main articles: History of medicine in the United States, Medicare (United States) § History, Medicaid § History, and Managed care § History

In the US, dissimilar to the European nationalized health insurance plans, the market created a private employment-based system. Following the Stabilization Act of 1942, employers, unable to provide higher salaries to attract or retain employees, began to offer insurance plans, including healthcare packages, as a fringe benefit, thereby beginning the practice of employer-sponsored health insurance.

Hospitalizations
According to a statistical brief by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), there were 35.7 million hospitalizations in 2016, a significant decrease from the 38.6 million in 2011. For every 1,000 in the population, there was an average of 104.2 stays and each stay averaged $11,700 (equivalent to $13,210 in 2021), an increase from the $10,400 (equivalent to $12,275 in 2021) cost per stay in 2012. 7.6% of the population had overnight stays in 2017, each stay lasting an average of 4.6 days.

A study by the National Institutes of Health reported that the lifetime per capita expenditure at birth, using the year 2000 dollars, showed a large difference between the healthcare costs of females ($361,192, equivalent to $568,345 in 2021) and males ($268,679, equivalent to $422,774 in 2021). A large portion of this cost difference is in the shorter lifespan of men, but, even after adjustment for age (assuming men live as long as women), there still is a 20% difference in lifetime healthcare expenditures.

Health insurance and accessibility
Unlike most developed nations, the US health system does not provide healthcare to the country's entire population. Instead, most citizens are covered by a combination of private insurance and various federal and state programs. As of 2017, health insurance was most commonly acquired through a group plan tied to an employer, covering 150 million people. Other major sources include Medicaid, covering 70 million, Medicare, 50 million, and health insurance marketplaces created by the ACA covering around 17 million. In 2017, a study found that 73% of plans on ACA marketplaces had narrow networks, limiting access and choice in providers.

'Healthcare coverage is provided through a combination of private health insurance and public health coverage (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid). In 2013, 64% of health spending was paid for by the government,  and funded via programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, Tricare, and the Veterans Health Administration. People aged under 65 acquire insurance via their or a family member's employer, by purchasing health insurance on their own, getting government and/or other assistance based on income or another condition, or are uninsured. Health insurance for public sector employees is primarily provided by the government in its role as employer. Managed care, where payers use various techniques intended to improve quality and limit cost, has become ubiquitous.'

Measures of accessibility and affordability tracked by national health surveys include: percent of population with insurance, having a usual source of medical care, visiting the dentist yearly, rates of preventable hospitalizations, reported difficulty seeing a specialist, delaying care due to cost, and rates of health insurance coverage. In 2004, an OECD report noted that "all OECD countries [except Mexico, Turkey, and the US] had achieved universal or near-universal (at least 98.4% insured) coverage of their populations by 1990". The 2004 IOM report also observed that "lack of health insurance causes roughly 18,000 unnecessary deaths every year in the US". 'A 2009 study done at Harvard Medical School with Cambridge Health Alliance by cofounders of Physicians for a National Health Program, a pro-single payer lobbying group, showed that nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with a lack of patient health insurance. The study also found that uninsured, working Americans have an approximately 40% higher mortality risk compared to privately insured working Americans.'

The Gallup organization tracks the percent of adult Americans who are uninsured for healthcare, beginning in 2008. The rate of uninsured peaked at 18.0% in 2013 prior to the ACA mandate, fell to 10.9% in the third quarter of 2016, and stood at 13.7% in the fourth quarter of 2018. "The 2.8-percentage-point increase since that low represents a net increase of about seven million adults without health insurance."

The US Census Bureau reported that 28.5 million people (8.8%) did not have health insurance in 2017, down from 49.9 million (16.3%) in 2010. Between 2004 and 2013, a trend of high rates of underinsurance and wage stagnation contributed to a healthcare consumption decline for low-income Americans. This trend was reversed after the implementation of the major provisions of the ACA in 2014.

As of 2017, the possibility that the ACA may be repealed or replaced has intensified interest in the questions of whether and how health insurance coverage affects health and mortality. Several studies have indicated that there is an association with expansion of the ACA and factors associated with better health outcomes such as having a regular source of care and the ability to afford care. A 2016 study concluded that an approximately 60% increased ability to afford care can be attributed to Medicaid expansion provisions enacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Additionally, an analysis of changes in mortality post Medicaid expansion suggests that Medicaid saves lives at a relatively more cost effective rate of a societal cost of $327,000 to $867,000 (equivalent to $369,213 to $978,921 in 2021) per life saved compared to other public policies which cost an average of $7.6 million (equivalent to $8.58 million in 2021) per life.

A 2009 study in five states found that medical debt contributed to 46.2% of all personal bankruptcies, and 62.1% of bankruptcy filers claimed high medical expenses in 2007. Since then, health costs and the numbers of uninsured and underinsured have increased. A 2013 study found that about 25% of all senior citizens declare bankruptcy due to medical expenses.

In practice, the uninsured are often treated, but the cost is covered through taxes and other fees which shift the cost. Forgone medical care due to extensive cost sharing may ultimately increase costs due to downstream medical issues; this dynamic may play a part in US's international ranking as having the highest healthcare expenditures despite significant patient cost-sharing.

Those who are insured may be underinsured such that they cannot afford adequate medical care. A 2003 study estimated that 16 million US adults were underinsured, disproportionately affecting those with lower incomes—73% of the underinsured in the study population had annual incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level. Lack of insurance or higher cost sharing (user fees for the patient with insurance) create barriers to accessing healthcare: use of care declines with increasing patient cost-sharing obligation. Before the ACA passed in 2014, 39% of below-average income Americans reported forgoing seeing a doctor for a medical issue (whereas 7% of low-income Canadians and 1% of low-income British citizens reported the same).

Health in the US in global context
The US life expectancy is 78.6 years at birth, up from 75.2 years in 1990; this ranks 42nd among 224 nations, and 22nd out of the 35 industrialized OECD countries, down from 20th in 1990.

In 2019, the under-five child mortality rate was 6.5 deaths per 1000 live births, placing the US 33rd of 37 OECD countries. In 2010–2012, more than 57,000 infants (52%) and children under 18 years died in the US.

While not as high in 2015 (14) as in 2013 (18.5), maternal deaths related to childbirth have shown recent increases; in 1987, the mortality ratio was 7.2 per 100,000. As of 2015, the US rate is double the maternal mortality rate in Belgium or Canada, and more than triple the rate in the Finland as well as several other Western European countries.

Life expectancy at birth for a child born in the US in 2015 is 81.2 (females) or 76.3 (males) years. According to the WHO, life expectancy in the US is 31st in the world (out of 183 countries) as of 2015. The US's average life expectancy (both sexes) is just over 79. Japan ranks first with an average life expectancy of nearly 84 years. The US ranks lower (36th) when considering health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) at just over 69 years. Another source, the Central Intelligence Agency, indicates life expectancy at birth in the US is 79.8, ranking it 42nd in the world. Monaco is first on this list of 224, with an average life expectancy of 89.5.

A 2013 National Research Council study stated that, when considered as one of 17 high-income countries, the US was at or near the top in infant mortality, heart and lung disease, sexually transmitted infections, adolescent pregnancies, injuries, homicides, and rates of disability. Together, such issues place the US at the bottom of the list for life expectancy in high-income countries. Females born in the US in 2015 have a life expectancy of 81.6 years, and males 76.9 years; more than three years less and as much as over five years less than people born in Switzerland (85.3 F, 81.3 M) or Japan (86.8 F, 80.5 M) in 2015.

anyssa.pat edits:

Demographic differences[edit]
Main articles: Race and health in the United States and Poverty and health in the United States

Health disparities are well documented in the US in ethnic minorities such as African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics. When compared to whites, these minority groups have higher incidence of chronic diseases, higher mortality, poorer health outcomes and poorer rates of diagnosis and treatment. Among the disease-specific examples of racial and ethnic disparities in the US is the cancer incidence rate among African Americans, which is 25% higher than among whites. In addition, adult African Americans and Hispanics have approximately twice the risk as whites of developing diabetes and have higher overall obesity rates. Minorities also have higher rates of cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS than whites. In the US, Asian Americans live the longest (87.1 years), followed by Latinos (83.3 years), whites (78.9 years), Native Americans (76.9 years), and African Americans (75.4 years). A 2001 study found large racial differences exist in healthy life expectancy at lower levels of education.

Public spending is highly correlated with age; average per capita public spending for seniors was more than five times that for children ($6,921 versus $1,225, equivalent to $10,427 versus $1,846 in 2021). Average public spending for non-Hispanic blacks ($2,973, equivalent to $4,479 in 2021) was slightly higher than that for whites ($2,675, equivalent to $4,030 in 2021), while spending for Hispanics ($1,967, equivalent to $2,963 in 2021) was significantly lower than the population average ($2,612, equivalent to $3,935 in 2021)). Total public spending is also strongly correlated with self-reported health status ($13,770 [equivalent to $20,745 in 2021] for those reporting "poor" health versus $1,279 [equivalent to $1,927 in 2021] for those reporting "excellent" health). Seniors comprise 13% of the population but take one-third of all prescription drugs. The average senior fills 38 prescriptions annually. A new study has also found that older men and women in the South are more often prescribed antibiotics than older Americans elsewhere, even though there is no evidence that the South has higher rates of diseases requiring antibiotics.

There is considerable research into inequalities in healthcare. In some cases, these inequalities are caused by income disparities that result in lack of health insurance and other barriers, such as equipment,  to receiving services. According to the 2009 National Healthcare Disparities Report, uninsured Americans are less likely to receive preventive services in healthcare. For example, minorities are not regularly screened for colon cancer and the death rate for colon cancer has increased among African Americans and Hispanic people. In other cases, inequalities in healthcare reflect a systemic bias in the way medical procedures and treatments are prescribed for different ethnic groups. Raj Bhopal writes that the history of racism in science and medicine shows that people and institutions behave according to the ethos of their times. Nancy Krieger wrote that racism underlies unexplained inequities in healthcare, including treatment for heart disease, renal failure, bladder cancer, and pneumonia. Raj Bhopal writes that these inequalities have been documented in numerous studies. The consistent and repeated findings were that Black Americans received less healthcare than white Americans—particularly when the care involved expensive new technology. One recent study has found that when minority and white patients use the same hospital, they are given the same standard of care.

''' The reason for high medical equipment costs are rooted in the process in which equipment is created, where research, design and development, regulatory compliances that involve “meeting the guidelines set by medical regulatory bodies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration”, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and profit are costly enough to demand for the equipment to be sold at a higher market price.   Cost, alongside systematically implemented oppression and inequality amongst communities of color within the healthcare system, becomes the formula for medical inaccessibility targeting specific communities. Most studies involving the study of access to medical devices and enhancement of affordable local production have concluded that increasing access to medical devices in an attempt to meet healthcare needs was extremely important.  ( *conversation surrounding possible solutions is being considered*) '''

The increase of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care raises issues equity and bias related to how health applications are developed and used. A recent scoping review identified 18 equity issues with 15 strategies to address them to try to ensure AI applications equitably meet the needs of the populations intended to benefit from them.