How the Lack of Government Intervention Is the Reason for Spiralling Healthcare Cost in the United States

HOW The LACK OF Government INTERVENTION IS THE REASON FOR SPIRALLING HEALTHCARE COST in the united states.

Healthcare costs have been increasing all over the world. The United States has by far the most expensive health care system in the world, based on health expenditures per capita, and on total expenditures of gross domestic product. Expenditures in the United States on health care surpassed $2.3 trillion in 2008, more than three times the $714 billion spent in 1990. Factors which lead to the spiralling cost in healthcare in United States include the lack of government intervention, the lack of personal responsibility and aging population.

One of the main factors which led to the spiralling cost in the United States is the lack of government intervention. This can be seen from the health expenditures per capita (per person). The United States spent $4,178 per capita on health care in 1998, far more than its closest competitor Switzerland ($2,794) whose healthcare system is regulated by the government. The structure of the US healthcare system is a complex system consisting of multiple plans that cover different segments of the population. It is a “multi-payer” system where both private and public insurers fund the healthcare system, also largely based on free market forces, where the private sector is the main source of health funding. In this system, the government does not participate in the forming of the prices of the products. Instead, the majority of the goods are sold at the prices that the consumers are willing to pay. By looking at the consumers' demands, and also at the production costs and profits desired, individual corporations set specific prices on their goods. Since the consumer has the freedom to choose whatever product they desire from any business, corporations keep their prices in a range that will attract the most business for the most...