The level of healthcare in the state is one of the most dominant aspects in assessment of the social well-being of the population. The major determinants of healthcare in the United States are cost, access, and quality. These indicators are crucial for identifying the strengths and weaknesses of medical care. The primary outstanding point is that American medicine is one of the costliest in the world, as the prices are above the market average. The price of any drug in America is set by the developer and then increases through intermediaries and pharmacy chains. In addition, the costs are high because there is a health coverage system. For the average working citizen, the cost of an insurance policy ranges from $250 to $400 per month (Shi and Douglas 301). At the state’s expense, only the most vulnerable segments of the population receive treatment: pensioners, low-income people, children, and others.
The other outstanding idea is that cost containment practices are implemented by different stakeholder groups to ensure accessibility to medical services. For example, telemedicine is widely used as a strategy that allows for reducing the expenses of care. By using this technology, the patients are able to have virtual appointments with a doctor, which are lower in price. What is more, health management programs are gaining popularity as they are created to prevent the disease or conditions occurrence (Shi and Douglas 306). They serve as self-help guides aimed at well-being promotion and raise of awareness. Finally, medical professionals should be trained to offer cost-effective plans to decrease the financial burden of a patient. In general, these strategies should be implemented simultaneously to have a long-lasting impact.
Work Cited
Shi, Leiyu and Douglas A. Singh. “Cost, Access, and Quality.” Essentials of the U.S. Health Care System, Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2019, pp. 291-317.