Due To The Unhealthy Lifestyles Americans Have Adapted, The Total Costs Have Increased Exponentially.

Data show that US health care expenditure has reached the trillion-dollar level, with health spending pegged at almost 18% of the country’s gross domestic product. This just means that: there is a great number of Americans getting sick and/or it has become very expensive to diagnose, treat and manage ill patients. Debate on the causes of this seemingly uncontrollable increase in health care costs in the country has arisen in many social corners, from town halls to the houses of congress. Some of the reasons named include the proliferation of more advanced medical/diagnostic technologies and drugs, increased prevalence of chronic illness caused by poor health behavior and lifestyle, and administrative costs relating to health care provision and the overhead costs incurred by health insurance providers.

Numerous position papers and medical research have pointed to the unhealthy lifestyle by Americans as one of the main causes why health care costs have increased, specifically in the areas of hospital care, nursing home care and retail prescription drug expenditures. Obesity, overweight and abnormal eating behavior have been pointed out as the primary causes of the increased prevalence of chronic diseases among Americans; of which include cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Other contributory factors include tobacco smoking, abnormal alcohol consumption and substance abuse; these cause high incidence in respiratory diseases, liver diseases and other chronic systemic conditions. The reason why these chronic illnesses contribute to the rise in health care costs is because each of these diseases would require protracted medical attention and treatment, which may include long-term rehabilitation when applicable. Put simply, the longer a disease is treated and managed and the longer a patient stays in a hospital, the higher the hospital bill gets and the higher the insurance companies would need to pay, provided that the patient has health insurance coverage; if not, the patient would have to shoulder these hospital bills and the required prescription drugs, and this could reach up to thousands of dollars, especially for those who have complications. Another area of concern within the health care sector of the US in terms of increasing health care utilization may be the increased incidence of transmissible diseases. The movement of people around the world has made it easy for infectious diseases to be spread and transmitted, and with the US being a common destination, either for tourism or as a migration destination, the country’s health care sector has been burdened, resulting to even higher health care utilization.

Employer-sponsored health insurance coverage has increased significantly, placing high cost burdens to private companies and employees. Many US families depend on their employer to provide health insurance for them and their families; however, the rising rate of unemployment due to the economic crisis has resulted in many families not having health insurance coverage at all. Americans who may have lost their jobs are now looking for affordable health insurance that would cover their own health care needs, as well as those of their loved ones especially their children. Currently, families who have nothing to spend for health insurance are turning to Medicaid; enrollment to Medicaid has been observed to increase due to the recession. If parents continue to be unemployed and thus not covered by health insurance, they would need to research for health insurance providers giving more affordable products. These health insurance providers may be researched using the internet, and comparisons of their prices and coverage can be done by accessing websites that cater to such inquiries. There are websites that help people select the health insurance that best suits their needs, including free price quotations, insurance providers on a per state basis and a description of diseases that are covered by each of the health insurance products. Consumers may also check the internet for comments given by existing clients of specific health insurance providers, in relation to the service they are providing.

Due to the increasing prices of health insurance across the country which is brought about by the high utilization of health care across the US, Americans may need to modify their lifestyle in order to prevent having to be hospitalized. Both the US government and the individual citizen have their roles to play in making this happen – – – the former, in making sure health programs that promote healthy living (smoking cessation, alcohol control, exercise promotion and healthy eating behavior) are implemented and the latter in ensuring that he lives a healthy lifestyle.