Introduction
The provision of quality healthcare services has become a consistent challenge that has baffled nurses, leaders, and civilians. People have explored chances of ensuring Americans get good health services but most of their efforts have not produced good results (Barr 2011). This essay discusses the views presented by Professor Amitabh Chandra regarding the challenges facing healthcare policy makers in America.
Discussion
The professor is shocked that almost 80% of Americans pay taxes that are directed to the provision of healthcare services. This means that the country is spending a lot of money in providing healthcare services that are not even affordable or available to all patients (Chandra 2012). He identifies three major challenges that make the American healthcare system to experience frequent failures despite efforts by policy makers and other stakeholders to revive and improve this sector.
These challenges include the presence of a huge population that is not insured and which spends a lot of money to access health services when it falls sick. People have not developed the culture of seeking health insurance covers offered by public and private institutions and this means that they have not secured their future against health complications. He argues that in 1999 less than 14% of the population was not insured and by 2010 this figure had increased to 16.3% and the trend seems to be moving upwards (Chandra 2012).
In addition, he claims that most uninsured people do not seek regular medical examinations since they fear incurring heavy costs. Therefore, when they get old they have various health complications that would have been managed if they had sought medical services earlier (Barr 2011). He believes that medical insurance covers are preventive measures that ensure people invest in preventing unnecessary huge medical bills during old age.
Secondly, he argues that health facilities should ensure their services are proportional to their costs. This means that there must be policies to ensure that patients get quality services at affordable prices. He believes that most Americans are paying a lot of money and getting compromised services that do not reflect their costs (Chandra 2012). Therefore, he proposes that doctors should be paid a lot of money not because they do a lot of work but because they ensure their patients are kept healthy, happy and alive.
Thirdly, he identifies technology as an important aspect of improving healthcare in modern societies. He claims that America is busy re-allocating funds from education to healthcare and this poses a great risk to the future of healthcare services (Chandra 2012). He believes that money should not be diverted from schools to healthcare since this hinders knowledge development and research on issues that affect human health.
He offers a detailed explanation of the dilapidated healthcare system of the United State and proposes remedies to help alleviate the challenges facing this sector. His arguments reflect the evils of the introduction of free trade in America that gives private health insurance providers chances to exploit civilians while the government thinks that it is creating a good environment for investors.
Conclusion
Healthcare is an indispensable human need and people must give it priority over other requirements. The challenges facing this sector are attributed to lack of public awareness and incentives for people to take medical insurance covers, high costs of medical services and poor technology used in managing various health complications. However, these challenges are manageable and eliminated through regulating the activities of private health insurance companies, investing in research and using improved technology in healthcare facilities.
References
Barr, D. (2011). Introduction to U.S. Health Policy: The Organization, Financing, and Delivery of Health Care in America. Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Chandra, A. (2012). Amitabh Chandra on U.S. Healthcare System. American Conversation Essentials. Bendigo, Vic.: YouTube.