Spiraling Health Care Costs: What you have to know

North Americans pay more than one and a half trillion dollars for medical care each year and costs related to all types of health care, such as prescription drugs, continue to skyrocket. While some of the reasons behind this booming bill are comprehensible, United States Citizens caught in a cash crunch may be surprised to learn a few of the lesser-known reasons for high health care costs.

The words health care may conjure up images of doctors, nurses and hospitals, but the reality is that the medical field is an industry and a ruthless one at that. Individual practitioners, researchers and participants may have wonderful intentions and a true desire to serve people, but the structure of the U.S. health care system assures profit is the number one issue of importance.

Here is some information that may assist in explaining the soaring costs of US health care:

Pharmaceutic research and development companies spend about $20 billion each year on R&D, and approximately a similar amount on advertising and self-promotional marketing activities.

Also, drug companies have as many sales people as there are doctors in the United States. One of the responsibilities of this sales force is to convince doctors to go to pharmaceutical company-sponsored seminars where medicines are showcased.

According to some economists, the acquisition of up to date technology is responsible for more than 50 percent of new health care spending over the last three years.

A great deal of the hard cash North Americans pay for health care finds its way into the increasing profits on health care-related products and services such as the supply of medical insurance. Even higher costs have been forseen for the future, particularly for prescription drugs.

For many US Citizens who are not able to afford the health care they need, rising prices typify an ever-increasing impedance to medical services and merchandise. The financial effect is also felt on the larger national scale with about fifteen percent of gross domestic product going toward health care costs. That is equal to roughly a quarter of the yearly federal budget.

Relatively, Canada invests about ten percent of its GDP on its public health care program. Unlike the U.S.A., Canadas health care program is universally available to all citizens and permanent residents without cost. Other countries, such as Germany, in which there is a public/private delivery system model for health care, manage to serve their populate for even less whilst still having greater longevity than Americans. This proves that the caliber of health care does not increase proportionately with the amount of money spent to achieve it.

While many Canadians supplement their universal health care with added insurance to the cost of medication and perks 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. Currently, more than 40 million Americans do not receive any type of health care benefit.

For employers, providing health care insurance for their workforce 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 employees still costs several thousand dollars per worker. For smaller companies, or for those 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:

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

Stop expensive treatment choices 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, proper nutrition and exercise.

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

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