Is there hope for the American healthcare system?
The U.S. healthcare system has had many strengths—innovation, world-class hospitals, and leading medical research—but in recent years has begun to face the consequences of serious and well-documented negative issues. Below is a breakdown of some of the major problems, along with how they interrelate, leading to problems for all of us. The purpose of this blog is to reinforce the need to “take the law into your own hands” and utilize preventive measures and self empowerment to stay as far removed from our failing medical system as possible for sick care.
“Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of ________?” You’ve heard this before, no? Using reactive sick care medicine to make people healthier doesn’t work. By the time western medicine stands up to “fix” your problem, you already have the problem. Maine Medical Center just added an HUGE cardiac extension to the hospital. Cardiac issues are some of the most preventable conditions through proper education and effort put on prevention. Instead of building a cardiac health, cardiovascular disease prevention building, they built one to do the same work they’ve been doing, but to accommodate more patients because the work they’ve been doing has clearly not worked. Insanity.
This type of healthcare philosophy is destined for failure, while making the healthcare industry wealthier. We are on the brink of serious healthcare failure issues in this country, and like with anything when the writing is on the wall, those who prepare will fare better. Getting control of your weight, your prescription and over the counter drug intake, your habits related to nutrition, alcohol, tobacco use, exercise and positive thinking will all matter. Creating a strong body that functions properly and adapts well to one’s environment is more important than ever. These are not threats, they are warnings.
1. Extremely high cost with comparatively poor outcomes
* The U.S. spends far more per person on healthcare than most other high-income countries — yet outcomes are worse in many key areas (e.g., life expectancy, maternal mortality). ([NCBI][1])
* High cost means many people face financial stress, even with insurance. For example, many respondents report skipping or delaying care because of cost. ([TIME][2])
* Because much of the system is market-driven with many payers, high prices persist for procedures, drugs and hospital care. ([Medifind][3])
* The paradox: heavy spending but lower value. One source describes the U.S. as “the worst-performing health system among all high-income countries.” ([Harvard Business Review][4])
2. Access, insurance coverage and under-insurance issues
* Although coverage has improved, millions still lack health insurance entirely. ([Commonwealth Fund][5])
* Even those who are insured may be “under-insured”: high deductibles, copayments and other cost‐sharing mean care is still financially burdensome or delayed. ([Commonwealth Fund][5])
* Geographic, socioeconomic and racial disparities persist—people in poorer or rural areas, or from historically marginalized groups, often get worse access, fewer options, longer wait times. ([Harvard Health][6])
3. Complexity, fragmentation and inefficiency
* The system is very complex: many insurers, many plans, varying benefits, complicated billing, co-pays, networks. This complexity itself becomes a barrier. ([JAMA Network][7])
* Fragmentation: care is often not well coordinated across providers, specialists, hospitals, and insurers. That leads to duplication, errors, miscommunication and sometimes worse outcomes. ([NCBI][8])
* Administrative costs are very high relative to simpler benchmark systems. Some of that overhead (billing, insurance administration, etc) contributes to inefficiency and higher costs for patients. ([PMC][9])
4. Outcome and quality issues
* On several measures, the U.S. falls behind comparable countries: for maternal mortality, life expectancy, preventable deaths, etc. ([healthsystemtracker.org][10])
* The variation between providers, states and regions means quality is inconsistent. One patient might receive excellent care, another less so. That unpredictability undermines trust and confidence.
* Preventable medical errors, delays due to insurance or coverage issues, or barriers to access—these further erode quality. ([Medifind][3])
5. Inequity and disparity
* Race, income, geography and other social determinants of health have a big influence on outcomes in the U.S. system. Marginalized communities often receive lower-quality care or face greater barriers. ([Commonwealth Fund][11])
* The fact that your health coverage and care quality often depend on job status, employer, or place of residence means systemic inequality is built into the structure. This is almost certainly going to worsen rapidly in coming years.
6. Incentive problems and misaligned priorities
* Because much of the system is driven by profit (not humanity), billing, insurance negotiations and corporate structures, some providers argue that decisions are sometimes influenced by cost concerns, reimbursement rates or administrative burdens rather than purely care-needs. ([PMC][9])
* The misalignment between paying for volume (many tests, many procedures) vs paying for value (better outcomes, less waste) contributes to over-treatment, unnecessary procedures or tests, and higher costs.
7. Preventive care, primary care underinvestment
* The U.S. tends to focus heavily on specialized and hospital care, but less on primary care, prevention, community health and social supports which drive long-term outcomes. ([Commonwealth Fund][5])
* Under-investment in prevention means more people enter care late, with advanced disease, increasing cost, risk and complexity.
* As an example: Back pain and spinal issues, including arthritis of the spine is the leading cause of disability in this country. Prevention of these problems could save BILLIONS of dollars a year, and an enormous loss of productivity, quality of life and happiness could be avoided with the use of preventive Chiropractic Care, that has been shown to benefit all.
8. Financial burden and risk for individuals
* Many Americans face high, if not impossible out-of-pocket costs, surprise bills, or being financially vulnerable if they become seriously ill. ([KFF][12]) To protect your family’s future, prevention is more important than ever.
* The complexity of insurance sometimes means people don’t know what they’ll pay until after care; that unpredictability increases stress and may delay care.
The Future
While the U.S. healthcare system used to excel in certain areas (innovation, medical research, leading hospitals for particular complex care), these evolving major negative aspects along with the old ones – high cost, uneven access, fragmentation, variability in quality, inequities and misaligned incentives, all now form a large part of the criticism, concern and fears for the future. In short, many patients pay more, wait more, and receive less consistent value than they arguably should. Prevention is the best medicine. Taking your health into your own hands with a team of doctors who try to keep you healthy rather than just make you less sick is the future of healthcare worldwide and in the US. Strategizing spinal health, cardiac health, brain health and continued movement and nutritional health is what is needed by everyone who is interested in health empowerment.
Dr. Lou Jacobs, Chiropractor and acupuncturist in Portland, Maine, has been working with and specializing in the health and performance of musicians of all types, for over 23 years. Dr. Lou’s longevity and prevention work has been highlighted in Guitar Player Magazine, and his client list is extensive, having worked with some of the best horn players in the world today. Dr. Lou is always accepting new patients and offers tele-consulting for musicians and others outside of Southern Maine. Dr. Lou also works with families and is board certified in chiropractic care for children and pregnant moms. Dr. Lou may be reached by calling (207) 774-6251 or by messaging his office manager, Sandra Escobar, at Sandra@DrLouJacobs.com.
Sources:
[1]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK568874/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “The U.S. Health Disadvantage and Why It Matters to Business – NCBI”
[2]: https://time.com/6279937/us-health-care-system-attitudes/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Exclusive: More Than 70% of Americans Feel Failed by the Health Care System”
[3]: https://www.medifind.com/news/post/problems-us-healthcare-system?utm_source=chatgpt.com “8 Major Problems with the U.S. Healthcare System Today | MediFind”
[4]: https://hbr.org/2024/11/why-the-u-s-healthcare-system-is-so-much-worse-than-its-peers?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Why the U.S. Healthcare System Is So Much Worse Than Its Peers”
[5]: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2024/sep/mirror-mirror-2024?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of the Failing U.S. Health System”
[6]: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-our-healthcare-system-broken-202107132542?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Is our healthcare system broken? – Harvard Health”
[7]: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2811354?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Complexity in the US Health Care System Is the Enemy of Access …”
[8]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221522/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Challenges Facing the Health System and Implications for … – NCBI”
[9]: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2190235/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “What is wrong with US health care – PMC”
[10]: https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/quality-u-s-healthcare-system-compare-countries/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “How does the quality of the U.S. health system compare to other …”
[11]: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2023/jan/us-health-care-global-perspective-2022?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Global Perspective on U.S. Health Care – Commonwealth Fund”
[12]: https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs/?utm_source=chatgpt.com “Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs – KFF”