By The Editorial Board
The mysterious world of health care often goes unnoticed by students, mostly because it’s a hard issue to digest. However, young people hold the power to influence American policies, and it’s important for students to know all of the facts, problems and potential solutions before they enter the real world after their time at Baylor.
Here’s the reality: The American health care system is an expensive, broken, complicated and seemingly unfixable issue that affects every American differently. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Americans are among the least healthy people in the modern world and among the most likely to die early. Along with other troubling statistics from The New York Times and Health Affairs, the infant death rate is 70% higher than it is in other wealthy countries.
According to Harvard Health, “Despite the U.S. spending more money on health care than other high-income nations, the U.S. scores poorly on many key health measures such as life expectancy, preventable hospitalizations, admissions and suicide.”
The reasons behind these frustrating facts are unclear, as many factors are involved, but here are the most compelling arguments behind the failures of the American health care system.
The cost is through the roof.
In 2019, overall American satisfaction with health care in the U.S. scored low as well. Reasons for this include the high cost of health care combined with the high number of uninsured Americans, resulting in some people going bankrupt if they develop a serious illness or injury.
The average amount spent on medication in the U.S. is $1,432 per capita, but the burden of medication costs is different from person to person. One example that hits close to home for many students at Baylor and over nine million people in the U.S. is the cost of insulin, which varies greatly between brands. According to GoodRx Health, the average price for a 3 mL vial of Admelog is $42, compared to $135 for the same-size vial of Humalog.
Additionally, the cost of care varies widely throughout the U.S. and for each hospitalization, making it nearly impossible to compare all options in a time of need. This often results in a huge, unexpected bill. Those surprise bills are not exclusively for people without insurance, though, as each type of insurance is unique and has different recommended providers.
Access to insurance is not balanced.
Health insurance is often dependent on people’s jobs. During World War II, offering health insurance was a way for companies to attract workers. This still seems to be the case, as many Americans get their health insurance from their employers. As a result, if people are laid off, which has been a heavy trend since COVID-19, it could jeopardize them and their families’ health care.
According to Harvard Health, “The current U.S. health care system has a cruel tendency to delay or deny high-quality care to those who are most in need of it but can least afford its high cost. This contributes to avoidable health care disparities for people of color and other disadvantaged groups.”
How do we fix it?
Other countries have had a different approach to health care, such as government-run systems that allow each citizen to have an equal right to care. Perhaps the successful systems used by countries like Denmark, Germany and Sweden can be models for the U.S. However, the U.S. has a lot of competing interests and institutions in place that depend on the current state of American health care, meaning the solution is far from being found.
The truth is, the matter of finding a sustainable solution will soon fall on the shoulders of young people — the next generation of lawmakers, doctors and medical professionals. Sitting around and hoping someone else will figure it out is not an option, and it won’t fix anything.
It is up to students to be prepared before they are on their own. Use these years to learn about the multifaceted world of health care and health insurance by talking with parents who have gone through the process and by utilizing Baylor Health Center resources. Time is ticking before students reach the all-important age of 26 and have to get off their parents’ health insurance. Don’t be caught unprepared, and don’t underestimate the power young people have to influence American policies such as health care.
