Could Copying Lessons from Europe Help America Fix its Healthcare System?

The steep cost of healthcare in the U.S. has always been, and is becoming an even bigger political issue with each passing year. The issue was at the center of the recent shutdown of the federal government and the shutdown was only ended after a promise that the expiring healthcare subsidies would be voted on this month. Health insurance costs are soaring while citizens grapple with a high cost of living. 

According to a report published by the OECD last month, the per capita expenditure on healthcare in the U.S. far exceeds the per capita cost in other countries. Despite that high cost, the outcomes don’t match or justify the high expenditure when compared with other developed countries’ outcomes at much lower per capita costs. 

According to the Commonwealth Fund, the U.S. has the worst healthcare outcomes among the 10 high-income nations that the foundation tracks. These are Australia, France, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the U.S. That ranking is a huge indictment of how bad the situation in the U.S. healthcare sector is. 

John McDonough, a public health professor at Harvard, says this problem has been brewing over several decades. He compares the scenario to what happens when you place a frog in a pot of water and then heat that water slowly. The frog stays put as the temperature slowly increases to a level that boils the frog alive. 

Many experts have suggested that the U.S. needs to look to Europe for workable solutions to the crisis. For example, McDonough says American healthcare no longer puts the patient at the core of its operations. Instead, “commercialization and financialization” dominate the attention of players in the system. 

Others point to the multiplicity of systems under which insurance is obtained and care provided. Medicare caters to some, Medicaid to others, employers provide coverage to others, Native Americans are under a different system, military veterans have their own scheme while individuals can also buy their own insurance cover outside the systems mentioned above. You would think that this variety of schemes would have everyone adequately covered, but data indicate that about 25 million don’t have insurance cover for their healthcare needs. 

Across the Atlantic, Germany and Switzerland could offer some lessons to the U.S. In those countries, there is a universal health insurance scheme that ensures everyone has access to quality healthcare at an affordable cost. Additionally, there are consistent rules governing all actors within the system, and profit isn’t a driver of what gets done or isn’t done. 

This is a major factor distinguishing the U.S. system from most systems in Europe. Corporate interests and the need to offer shareholder value are drivers of the skyrocketing cost of medical care in the U.S., often to the detriment of the needs of patients. 

There is an urgent need to rethink the system and come up with a model that will provide lasting solutions to the worsening crisis. In the meantime, entities like Astiva Health that focus on serving racial minorities and other vulnerable demographics continue to face an uphill task in delivering on their mandate. 

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Astiva Health are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/Astiva 

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