Spiraling Health Care Costs: What you need to know

US Citizens pay more than one and a half trillion dollars for medical care every year and costs associated with all types of health care, such as prescription drugs, continue to accelerate. While some of the reasons behind this booming bill are comprehensible, Americans caught in a cash crunch might be amazed to find out some of the lesser-known causes of escalating health care costs.

The phrase health care may conjure up images of doctors, nurses and hospitals, but the reality is that the medical field is a business and a remorseless one at that. Individual practitioners, researchers and participants may have tremendous aims and a true desire to assist people, but the structure of the US health care system ensures profit is the first issue of importance.

Here is some information that might assist in explaining the escalating costs of US health care:

Pharmaceutic research and development companies expend approximately $20 billion each year on Research and development, and approximately a similar amount on advertising and self-promotional merchandising activities.

Also, drug companies have as many sales people as there are doctors in the U S. One of the duties of these sales teams is to convince doctors to go to their company-sponsored seminars where drugs are showcased.

According to some economic experts, the purchase of new technology is responsible for more than 50 percent of new health care spending over the previous 3 years.

A good deal of the money US Citizens pay for health care finds its way into the spiraling profits on health care-related products and services such as the provision of medical insurance. Even greater costs have been forseen for the future, particularly for prescription drugs.

For numerous United States Citizens who are unable to afford the health care they need, spiraling prices symbolise an ever-increasing block to medical services and products. The fiscal effect is also experienced on the larger national scale with about 15 percent of gross domestic product going toward health care costs. That is equal to roughly one fourth of the annual federal budget.

Relatively, Canada invests around ten percent of its Gross domestic product on its public health care program. Unlike the US, Canadas health care program is universally available to all citizens and permanent residents without cost. Other countries, such as Germany, where there is a public/private delivery system model for health care, manage to serve their citizens for even less whilst still having greater longevity than US Citizens. This proves that the quality of health care does not increase proportionally with the amount of money spent to attain it.

While many Canadians supplement their overall health care with extra insurance to the cost of medication and benefits such as semi-private or private hospital rooms, health care insurance is much more of a necessity in the United States. Unfortunately, costs have been spiraling dramatically, making health care insurance inaccessible for many Americans. Presently, more than 40 million Americans don't receive any type of health care benefit.

For employers, offering health care insurance for employees is also becoming increasingly expensive, with increases dramatically outpacing inflation rates. Some years, the difference is four or six fold. Even if premiums were to remain static, providing health care insurance to workers still costs several thousand dollars per worker. For smaller companies, or for the ones that employ a large number of people, these costs can be prohibitive.

Steps to cut down health care costs are always under consideration, though many are not popular choices. Suggestions that have been put forward by various sources have included:

Increased drug awareness and training. Millions could be saved if health care insurance covered only generic versions of drugs that have been found to be just as effective as their more expensive brand name counterparts.

End expensive treatment options will only add a short period of time to a patients life, especially if it will not be quality time (i.e. patient is in a coma).

Promote preventative care such as smart lifestyle choices, correct nutrition and exercise.

Examine ways to control drug advertising to consumers. There is speculation that advertising has led to prescriptions of non-necessary drugs.

Restrict malpractice liability so doctors and medical professionals do not feel forced to cover themselves by ordering unneeded diagnostics to confirm conditions they already know to be present.