As the year wraps up and the flu steadily makes its way around the country, I walked into my annual physical appointment with mostly ease (and slight white coat syndrome), confident that I had managed to avoid the yearly illnesses. I was grateful that the appointment was rather quick and the nurse practitioner doing my physical seemed really nice.
Maybe it's my college student mentality and the lack of healthcare education I have, but when I got the bill for this physical, at a clinic that accepts my insurance, I was in absolute shock. $459. That's what they were trying to get out of me. THEY DIDN'T EVEN TAKE MY TEMPERATURE. They didn't look at my throat, or ask me any of the questions that are normally asked at a physical. On top of that, they told me I would receive the results from my bloodwork back in a few days. It's been almost a month later, and I haven't heard anything. They sure made it a priority to get my bill to me, though.
I called the billing department to try to dispute this unethical, mind-blowing charge, a process I am still in the middle of. As I wait to hear back from these people who are supposed to have our best interests, I cannot stop thinking about what garbage American healthcare is. In other countries, surgeries are performed for far less, maternity leave is much longer, and citizens seem to be happier. So, what makes America a terrible place for healthcare?2
1. Receiving care is often times extremely inconvenient.
It's not uncommon to be drowning in medical paperwork and bills all from a simple appointment. Not to mention if you get sick on the weekend, when doctors' offices are typically closed, you're stuck endlessly waiting in the ER just to be given ineffective antibiotics and sent on your way. The American Prospect reports, "Only 30 percent of Americans report that they can access a doctor on the very day they need one, as opposed to 41 percent of Britons and 55 percent of Germans. And a full 67 percent of Americans -- more than in any other country -- say it's difficult to get care on nights, weekends, or holidays with resorting to the emergency room, where care is costlier and, if your injury is not grievous, less efficient" (Klein, 2007).
2. Costs are astronomical.
According to Vox, "we spend $2.8 trillion on healthcare annually" (Kliff, 2015). Something as simple as a ride in an ambulance or a trip to the ER leaves many Americans in medical debt. Follow ups, referrals, bloodwork, etc. only add insurmountable fees.
3. Our money and time are being wasted.
Many times when we seek medical care, we are mistreated, if treated at all. Vox said, "Take the example of prescribing antibiotics for acute bronchitis. Researchers have known for decades that this isn't an effective treatment, but nearly three-quarters of doctors do so anyway. Those prescriptions are actively harmful, as overuse of antibiotics can speed up the creation of deadly, antibiotic-resistant superbugs" (Kliff, 2015). Even if certain treatments do not work, we are still stuck footing the bill and spending more time/money on additional appointments.
4. Maternity/paternity leave is not taken seriously enough.
The average length of maternity leave in the United States is 16 weeks. It is not only unpaid most of the time, but it also sends the message parenthood is unimportant. The Washington Post reported, "The United States remains the only country in the developed world that does not mandate employers offer paid leave for new mothers, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. New mothers in Finland, for instance, are entitled to up to three years worth of paid leave. Norwegian moms get up to 91 weeks. The U.K. grants new mothers up to 39 weeks, while our neighbors in the frigid Canadian north get one year" (Ingraham, 2018). And people wonder why more millennials aren't having kids.
5. Doctors are paid for quantity, not quality.
Every appointment, shot, referral, prescription, etc. is more money in the doctors' pocket. Regardless if patients get better or not, they are paid for every single procedure that gets performed. These vested interests make many citizens fearful and distrustful of doctors.
Overall, we should be able to focus on getting healthy without having the burden of extreme medical debt. America needs healthcare reform and medical professionals who actually have our best interest. We should take a page from other countries' books and change the way we handle healthcare.
