For more years, American families have been plagued by the high cost of healthcare and impact choices regarding insurance reportage and treatment seeking, among other things. Steven Brill’s “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us,” published in Time magazine in 2013, and T.R. Reid’s “America’s Bitter Pill Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System,” featured on NPR Health News in 2015. These pieces critically critique the American healthcare system and a gripping story that illuminates the institution’s inner workings. This study will extensively analyze these two studies, emphasizing their primary concepts, the author’s conclusions, and the potential consequences of their results.
Bitter Pill Presents Four Major Ideas
Steven Brill’s patch “Bitter Pill” delves into the shortcomings and unforeseen repercussions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the larger healthcare business in the United States. The chase is the four major principles provided in the essay, as well as examples used by the author to exemplify each point:
Healthcare is Expensive
The writer examines how the United States has the world’s highest healthcare prices and how these costs are ascent at an alarming pace. Scophthalmus rhombus provides various instances of outrageous hospital rates and compares them to what Medicare pays. For a troponin rip test, one hospital, for example, emotional a non-Medicare affected role $199.50. A Medicare patient was supercharged $13.94. A CBC at another institution would have cost the patient $157.61. A Medicare patient was charged $11.02 (Brill, 2013). The legislation has helped millions of Americans access health insurance, but it has yet to resolve the system’s issues entirely.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has flaws, but it is a positive move in the right direction. Republicans were ferociously opposed to the ACA, resulting in concessions that undermined the bill. Even though millions of Americans obtained insurance coverage and other advantages due to the ACA’s policies — the uninsured population vanished by 9-12 million during the first year the law’s primary reportage measures were enacted – the law’s political roots remain unstable.
Hospitals’ Role in Cost Increases
The writer argues that hospitals are often the primary driver of rising healthcare expenses. Hospitals often engage in aggressive charge methods and demand high charges for anything from medical examination treatments to simple materials. The clause also discusses how third-party intermediaries like pharmaceutic profit managers (PBMs), medical equipment providers, and insurance firms have contributed to inflated healthcare prices. For example, the author tells the incident of an emotional patient, $18,000 for medical equipment that only undefined $300 to manufacture. A third-party distributor supplied the token to a medical exam equipment provider, who sold it to the hospital. Each jobber increased their profit margins, greatly raising the device’s price (Brill, 2013). another model of exorbitant medical checkup expenses cited by the writer is a $1,500 tear for a unity Tylenol tablet.
The Economic Effects of the Healthcare Industry in the United States
Steven Brill argues in his piece “Bitter Pill” that the healthcare industries’ effect on American thriftiness has resulted in a system of rules in which healthcare expenses are not suitably controlled. The writer points out that the healthcare business is a John Roy Major engine of the US economy and spends more money on lobbying than other manufacturers in the country. Brill claims that the senior high school cost of healthcare is the moment of a complex web of variables, including high school undefined and administrator salaries, the expense of medical malpractice insurance, a miss of damage transparency, and the usage of expensive medical equipment (Brill, 2013). Besides, he claims that the pharmaceutical industry’s lobbying activities have resulted in a lack of medicament pricing control and soaring prescription drug expenses.
Brill also emphasizes that some hospitals and healthcare systems function as non-profit entities, allowing them to keep off paid taxes while making enormous profits. He observes that senior executives’ wages at these non-profit hospitals surpass $1 trillion annually, and numerous executives earn considerable bonuses on top of their already high incomes. This concept is demonstrated by the story of a lady who got a $31,000 charge from an infirmary after getting a Connecticut scan (Brill, 2013). The instruction contained a $3,800 bung for using the Constitution State equipment, which the hospital had already paid off.
The Grandness of Reform
The American healthcare system has long wanted change, and Steven Brill’s Bitter Pill patch highlights the fundamental problems in the existing system. Among the challenges are excessive prices, more transparency, and a focus on profits above patient worry. The Affordable Care Act was a huge take-up in the right direction, but it is meager to figure out the fundamental faults in the healthcare system (Brill, 2013). health care prices have been a barrier to access for umpteen People, and this is a make out that must be addressed. Moreover, the need for price transparency and the system’s complexity makes it unmanageable for customers to make educated healthcare choices. The system’s core flaws must be addressed to accomplish the operational transformation. It will need legislative assembly measures to guarantee acceptable and obvious pricing and populace pressure to ensure that the healthcare system is focused on patient care rather than profits.
The Four Main Concepts in the NPR Health News Article
The article “America’s Bitter Pill” examines many key themes near the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its probable mold on healthcare in the United States. The pursuit is the four key themes self-addressed in the article:
The ACA’s Unintended Consequences: The Growth of High-Deductible Health Plans
According to the report, the ACA has sudden repercussions, such as increased high-deductible health plans. As reported to the author, the ACA has increased high-deductible insurance plans, which put the responsibility of healthcare expenditures onto consumers and English hawthorn cause financial trouble for populate with substantial medical problems. Although the ACA has improved access to insurance for many individuals, it has not necessarily successful healthcare more inexpensive or accessible, according to the author. To demonstrate this argument, the writer provides instances of individuals who had experienced fiscal difficulty due to vaunting deductibles and out-of-pocket payments, even when they had insurance. The article likewise mentions how high-deductible plans might deter individuals from getting medical treatment when needed, which can top to more substantial health concerns later on (NPR, 2015)
The ACA as a Profession Compromise
According to the report, the ACA was a professional compromise that eventually failed to turn into galore of the first harmonic issues in the healthcare business. As reported to the author, the ACA was a faulty answer to the issue of healthcare get at and cost because it was created to be a professional compromise that could pass through Congress quite than a nail solution to the United States healthcare dilemma (NPR, 2015). The author points out that the ACA was unsuccessful in addressing some underlying healthcare issues, such as a lack of terms transparency, the high school cost of medical procedures, and the influence of insurance and pharmaceutical firms in pushing expenses upwards.
To demonstrate this argument, the writer gives instances of medical providers charging wasteful costs, such as a hospital asking $77 for a box of veiling pads that could be obtained for $1.27 at a nearby drugstore (NPR, 2015). The author also emphasizes lobbyists’ and special interest groups’ participation in designing the final form of the ACA, which resulted in concessions that watered down several of its essential features.
The ACA’s Ineffective Approach to Addressing High health care Costs
According to the paper, the ACA did not properly address the problem of excessive healthcare prices. Undefined its objective of making health care cheaper, the ACA needed to address the fundamental factors contributing to the country’s high school healthcare expenditures. According to the author, the miss of price competition in the healthcare business, along with the highly undefined medical procedures and the pharmaceutic industry’s influence, has contributed to the high undefined for healthcare in the United States. To demo this argument, the author gives instances of immoderate medication prices, such as one that costs $93,000 for a course of therapy and a lack of transparency in checkup procedure pricing (NPR, 2015). The author also points out that the Affordable Care Act does not address the large administrative expenses involved with the healthcare system, which are among the highest in the world.
Reforming The Healthcare System On an Operational Level Will Be Difficult Because of Political and Economic Forces.
The essay argues that the professional and economic barriers preventing improving the healthcare system for pregnant women are still in place. The author contends that the same political and economic reasons that prevented successful healthcare reform in the past, such as the influence of lobbyists and the business interests of medical providers and insurance corporations, continue to exist and prevent significant change. These reasons include the influence of lobbyists and the business interests of medical providers and insurance corporations. If these underlying concerns are not addressed, the author believes that healthcare reform will become a political football passed back and forth between various professional organizations.
The author provides examples of the impact that special interest groups have had on formulating healthcare policy, much like the pharmaceutical industry’s lobbying tactics to secure its earnings, to establish the validity of this notion. In addition, the author discusses how the financial interests of medical practitioners and insurance companies could cause conflicts that impede the successful straightening of healthcare issues (NPR, 2015).
In the article “America’s Bitterness Pill,” by Steven Brill, the author describes how an organism and a patient’s function influenced his viewpoint on healthcare. Because of his health problem, he had to undergo several medical examinations and procedures, so he became familiar with the workings of the healthcare system. As a writer, he was still responsible for addressing systemic problems in the healthcare industry, such as the excessive cost of drugs and the lack of openness regarding the extent of the damage. Nevertheless, as a patient, he experienced firsthand the difficulties associated with dealing with insurance companies, ambiguous medical bills, and difficulty obtaining affordable care (NPR, 2015). Because of this, he concluded that the healthcare system is broken and urgently needs reform.
A Brief Analysis of Two Articles
“Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us” and “America’s Bitter Pill Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System,” shed light on the intricacies and issues of the American healthcare system. The book “Bitter Pill” by Steven Brill reveals the excessive expenses of healthcare and the hidden fees and markups that make it difficult for individuals to finance medical treatment. On the other hand, “America’s Bitter Pill” delves into the professional and economic aspects contributing to the country’s flawed healthcare system.
These stories demonstrate that the married States’ healthcare system desperately needs change. Inefficiencies, high school expenses, and restricted access for galore people hinder the system. Although the ACA has resulted in advances, more is needed to turn to the fundamental issues. Both publications suggest increased openness and accountability in the healthcare system are needed as possible remedies. It involves tackling the problem of unexpected medical expenses, instituting pricing limits, and letting down administrative costs. Moreover, they recommend policies that encourage preventative care and go by the intensity from profit to patient care.
I concur with the authors’ findings. The American healthcare system desperately needs change, and although the ACA was a move in the right way, it needed to go further to solve the industry’s subjacent flaws. But, it is equally critical to recognize that healthcare sees the light as a complicated topic without simpleton answers. With the Sami data, strange conclusions English hawthorn be formed, such as the need for stronger government control of the healthcare business or the want to tackle socioeconomic problems that lead to poor health outcomes. Before passing judgment on the respect and significance of these publications, it is necessary to pass judgment on other selective information, such as the perspectives of healthcare stakeholders, the standard political atmosphere surrounding healthcare reform, and the possible repercussions of various reform plans. Viewing these publications critically is necessary, acknowledging that the writers have biases and opinions that may bear upon their results.
To conclude, the United States healthcare system is in undefined require of change, and these two documents give useful insights into the difficulties and possible solutions. By addressing the fundamental concerns of undefined access and the political and economic forces that contribute to the impoverished system, the married States may progress toward a healthcare system of rules that inevitably prioritizes patients while promoting overall wellness and well-being.
References
Brill, S. (2013, April 4). A Bitter pill: Why medical bills are killing us. Time. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://time.com/198/bitter-pill-why-medical-bills-are-killing-us/
NPR. (2015, January 5). ‘America’s bitter pill’ makes a case for why Health Care Law ‘won’t work.’ NPR. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/01/05/375024427/americas-bitter-pill-makes-case-for-why-health-care-law-wont-work
write