Why does the U.S spend so much??

Last class, we talked a lot about U.S. healthcare statistics and compared many aspects of it with the systems of other countries. Despite the U.S. being a world superpower in many ways, it is astounding just how behind the country seems to be on something as important to its citizens’ welfare as healthcare. I have been thinking about why the healthcare-related trends of the U.S. are the way that they are, and this is what I came up with. I may be completely wrong in these thoughts, but I figure that there must be some reason why the U.S. is so set in her ways and has yet to adopt a similar system of healthcare that seemingly works for so many other countries.

When the topic of U.S. expenditure was discussed in class, I was confused as to how and why a country would need to spend so much on healthcare, despite requiring its citizens to pay for their own insurance coverage. I am not sure if the spending is scaled according to the country’s population and need for resources, but that may be a reason for the increased expenditure. Additionally, the U.S. is a frontrunner in the field of medicine, and it takes a lot of money to get to that point. A classmate mentioned that people travel across the world to receive state of the art treatment in the U.S. even in instances where healthcare in their country may be free and universal. Treatments that are not covered under the insurance programs of other countries, or are not even available in such countries, are possible in the U.S. The country’s innovation in that regard provide many opportunities that may not be available otherwise and that could be one reason why U.S. healthcare expenditure is as high as it is. I also believe that treatment is much more expensive than prevention. I do not think that the U.S. healthcare system directs allocates  enough resources or initiatives toward disease prevention, which inevitably places a larger financial burden on the citizens and on the country as a whole.

With regard to the high cost of healthcare to U.S. citizens compared to those of other countries, there may be several contributing factors. As we discussed, healthcare professionals may be more highly compensated than those working in countries with free and universal healthcare systems. I interpret that as an indirect result of the current U.S. healthcare system and not a driving factor. As noted earlier, the U.S.’s high spending on healthcare may be partially attributed to its innovation. When people pay for insurance, they are paying for services that they may need someday. Until that day comes, that money ends up going toward someone else’s services. A similar process may tie high citizens’ cost and the U.S. cost on healthcare together. A possibility is that some of the money that people spend on their own healthcare is used for novel treatments that they may need someday or otherwise may be needed by others. 

My last thought speaks both to the cost of the individual and to the cost of the country as a whole. It is not news to anyone that, in recent years, the lifestyle habits that many people have in this country has taken a turn for the worst. An abundance of cheap and unhealthy food options embedded within a society that is becoming more and more sedentary weighs heavily on the wallet (pun NOT intended) and health of the people. The habits that people have formed over the years have undoubted contributed to the rising costs of healthcare both to the country and her citizens and may be a major cause for the U.S. age-expectancy lagging behind other countries. I think that it would be interesting to see what happens to the healthcare system as a whole once some of the factors, such as nationwide food options, that many may not see as primary health factors are addressed.