Why is the cost of health care so high?

Question

I have to do a research paper relateing to the medical field. Could you guys and gals help me out with some resoures, or opinons upon why the cost of healt care is so high for americans or perhaps it is not and people are exagerating the cost.

I also plan to include a sections about the cost of mexico and canadian health care. Also the phamacy industys way of prices and explain the whole name brand and generic issue.

If yall can help me out with links and opinions that would be great.

Answer 1

As a healthcare worker, what I have seen is the millions of dollars (I've personally done thousands of dollars) of work we do for people who don't have insurance, whether medicaid for those too lazy to work (I'm NOT talking about those who can't work), illegals, and people such as drug dealers (who take advantage of the system to get their healthcare at the expense of those of us who pay for it). There is also the matter of the people who are so anxious to sue that physician's malpractice is through the roof, not to mention my personal malpractice insurance. And, there is the FDA to consider. Because of the FDA and their investigations, it costs millions to get a product or drug to market.

How do we lower the cost of healthcare?

1. Make those who can, pay for it. In the case of drug dealers, keep any cash they carry into the hospital as a down payment for their treatment.
2. Stop giving away healthcare to those who are in this country illegally and sending their money to another country.
3. Cap the amount of damages that can be awarded in malpractice cases...and stack the jury with people who can assess a case objectively rather than with those who will assess with their hearts.

Answer 2

Ok - let's see - research and development of drugs and hardware (CAT scans, MRIs, lab tests) cost money and takes a long time. The cost of this has to be added counted when the machine is sold.

As a result, the machine costs the hospitals and places that buy it a lot of money and if it is a drug, we the customer have to pay for it.

The buildings and staff and the cost of the machine not too mention things like insurance go into making up the price that is charged for a test.

Of course doctors, they do to school for many years and pay a lot of money for it. Then they have to pay malpractice insurance. Lawyers are a big reason medical costs are so high.

Answer 3

well, there sure is a lot about that topic. to star, for the cost of health care. doctors are just trying to make a living. people find it simple outrageous to go and pay 15 dollars to see the doctor, but yet they are willing to go spend 30 dollars at the salon for a haircut. they dont see health care as a business, and their ideas on how much doctors really make is distorted. this leads to them thinking that health care should be free. also, think of all the malpractice cases filed. doctors tend to order many many more extremely expensive tests to triple check their work to save themselves from a malpractice case. these costs are passed on to the consumer. and the cost of a malpractice case and the insurance. in some places doctors pay over 300,000$ for malpractice insurance. thats a huge amount, considering that even the best and most hard working doctors barely make that much. and then the awards they must pay. sometimes over a million these days. is it really the doctors fault if the patient failed to follow their instructions. can they really be sued for that? also, because many doctors quit practice after being driven out of practice because of malpractice cases, or protest, there are fewer doctors performing risky procedures or even regular procedures, and that leads to a higher cost too.

ok so on the mexico canada health care prices, mexico can barely provide a good standard of living for its citizens in some areas, which is very sad. it would be nice to see everyone able to live in a nice area. however, thats prolly not going to mean good health care. maybe its even free, but you get what you pay for. as for canada, its government run health care. but because of that, theres less doctors, and overall its not good for the consumer. because its all run by one system, theres no competition. the price you get at one hospital is the price at every other hospital. and how ever long you are told you have to wait for a procedure, thats pretty much it. sometimes because of simply the lack or competition, patients may wait for procedures for 2 months. im pretty sure its not fun waiting that long if you have a tumor.

as for pharmacies, medicare and medicade are really helping to lead to the increase in drug prices. elderly people arn't paying for their meds, and just like everyone else, they need to make a living too. they tranfer their losses on medicare/medicade patients to the individual private paying consumers. voila. higher drug prices! if americans keep this up, as you can see already, some areas are suffering greatly from the lack of doctors, and what happens if they all leave an area. uh oh. : (
we basically need a health care system focused on quality and patient satisfaction, with healthy competition. when that happens, then health care will be much better. : )

hope that helps

Answer 4

health care is high because of many factors...one issue is using the emergency room for routine care,illegal aliens who bog down the system also....equipment is also a high cost item and every place wants to have the newest and best stuff out there...biggest problem is the sue happy nation we live in...premiums for malpractice insurance is astronomical and the cost of that gets passed on to the patient

Answer 5

Its because the big shots are greedy and want all the money.
In the olden days, A doc would come out on a horse and deliver a baby and the cost would be probably a dozen eggs.

Answer 6

it doesn't have to be that way..it's just another way the government sucks us dry for money

Answer 7

they are trying to rip you off.