Running Head: HEALTH POLICIES, POLITICS AND PERSPECTIVES 1 HEALTH POLICIES, POLITICS AND PERSPECTIVES . 4 Week #1 Discussion #2: Key Characteristics of the U.S. Healthcare System \ In the USA, the healthcare system has three pillars, quality, access and cost. They influence accessibility of healthcare among the American citizens (Shi & Singh, 2015). The government has embarked on efforts to ensure that there is improved health access to its people and continually increase the good being of its people. The paper explores how various attributes related to the pillars in the delivery of healthcare in the United States of America. Health policy that the government employ foster on safety. The patients' safety is a major priority of the USA government (Shi & Singh, 2015). Safety in healthcare is patient-centered to ensure that there is proper flow of information between the various shareholders in the market. Proper flow of information ensures that the needs of the patients are addressed as well as better disease prevention methods (Shi & Singh, 2015) (Goodnough, 2019). Thus, there is little or no room for intolerance among the healthcare practitioners that fosters patient safety. People are assured of safety due to the high quality of services that the people provide (Goodnough, 2019). However, costs for diagnosis and medication of some diseases is high that lower access among the middle and poor working classes. Healthcare delivery is also efficient and effective. Efficiency in the United States is achieved through the utilization of technology. There is a continued use of technology to ensure that there are right diagnoses of diseases (Shi & Singh, 2015). Besides, the doctors and other shareholders within the healthcare sector use technology in the management of records. Management of records promotes the privacy of patients’ information. As a result, people have trust in healthcare providers. The government also improves the effectiveness of the healthcare system in the USA through increasing of insurance among the people (Goodnough, 2019). The USA has increased insurance covers among the people through the ACA act. The policy ensures that most of the people obtain insurance cover and consecutively increase access to the people (Shi & Singh, 2015). Another program is Medicare that provides insurance cover to the patients who are above 65 years. The programs cover patients who are above 65 years, those with disabilities and those with end-stage renal disease. Through the programs, the people obtain pharmaceuticals, and the healthcare providers are also better skilled that improve on the quality of services that they deliver to the American people. The major provider of healthcare services in the private sector since most hospitals are run by profit organizations (Goodnough, 2019). Healthcare providers firms compete over clients through the services that they offer. Competition fosters the quality of services that they provide as well a ...

1. Running Head: HEALTH POLICIES, POLITICS AND
PERSPECTIVES
1
HEALTH POLICIES, POLITICS AND PERSPECTIVES
.
4
Week #1 Discussion #2:
Key Characteristics of the U.S. Healthcare System
In the USA, the healthcare system has three pillars, quality,
access and cost. They influence accessibility of healthcare
among the American citizens (Shi & Singh, 2015). The
government has embarked on efforts to ensure that there is
improved health access to its people and continually increase
the good being of its people. The paper explores how various
attributes related to the pillars in the delivery of healthcare in
the United States of America.
Health policy that the government employ foster on safety. The
patients' safety is a major priority of the USA government (Shi
& Singh, 2015). Safety in healthcare is patient-centered to
ensure that there is proper flow of information between the
various shareholders in the market. Proper flow of information
ensures that the needs of the patients are addressed as well as
better disease prevention methods (Shi & Singh, 2015)
(Goodnough, 2019). Thus, there is little or no room for

2. intolerance among the healthcare practitioners that fosters
patient safety. People are assured of safety due to the high
quality of services that the people provide (Goodnough, 2019).
However, costs for diagnosis and medication of some diseases is
high that lower access among the middle and poor working
classes.
Healthcare delivery is also efficient and effective. Efficiency in
the United States is achieved through the utilization of
technology. There is a continued use of technology to ensure
that there are right diagnoses of diseases (Shi & Singh, 2015).
Besides, the doctors and other shareholders within the
healthcare sector use technology in the management of records.
Management of records promotes the privacy of patients’
information. As a result, people have trust in healthcare
providers. The government also improves the effectiveness of
the healthcare system in the USA through increasing of
insurance among the people (Goodnough, 2019). The USA has
increased insurance covers among the people through the ACA
act. The policy ensures that most of the people obtain insurance
cover and consecutively increase access to the people (Shi &
Singh, 2015). Another program is Medicare that provides
insurance cover to the patients who are above 65 years. The
programs cover patients who are above 65 years, those with
disabilities and those with end-stage renal disease. Through the
programs, the people obtain pharmaceuticals, and the healthcare
providers are also better skilled that improve on the quality of
services that they deliver to the American people. The major
provider of healthcare services in the private sector since most
hospitals are run by profit organizations (Goodnough, 2019).
Healthcare providers firms compete over clients through the
services that they offer. Competition fosters the quality of
services that they provide as well as the rates that they offer to
the general population.
The healthcare system in the USA is also equitable by making it
available to all the people. Providing people with equal medical
care has been the major objective of American citizens (Shi &

3. Singh, 2015). Thee old, minority communities like African
Americans as well as social-economic disparities. The
affordable healthcare act ensures that all people have equal
access to healthcare. The program lower pocket payoffs that
people pay that lowers medical bills (Goodnough, 2019). People
also easily access medical facilities that make people access
facilities. Besides, the lack of a central agency that controls
healthcare reduces bureaucracy that would undermine equitable
access to healthcare.
References
Goodnough, A. (2019, December 18).Health Spending Grew
Modestly, New Analysis Finds. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/05/health/health-spending-
medical-costs.html
Shi & Singh, D. A. (2015). Essentials of the U.S. Health Care
System. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Reply to the following posts. In your reply, include new
information about the attributes you utilized in your original
assignment (The one you did for me). Each reply should be at
least 200 to 300 words.
I will also attach the original assignment you did for me.
Post # 1: Jacqueline
The United States health system is built upon the three pillars
of quality, cost and access to healthcare. These three pillars
have been a focus in policy and healthcare reform in recent
years and will continue to be in coming years. There are many
attributes that contribute to these three pillars and their
continued progress. Upon completing the readings by Shi and
Singh (2014), some of these attributes include number of
students entering medical school, prescription drug cost and the
effects of research on healthcare. The number of students
entering medical school, cost of prescription drugs and research
are all related to the three pillars of quality, cost and access to
healthcare.

4. The number of students entering medical school is determined
by several variables. A major variable effecting the number of
students entering medical school is their ability to obtain a
government grant to help cover the cost of medical school (Shi
& Singh, 2014). With the help of government grants, more
students may be more likely to apply to a medical school. The
increase in number of students going to medical school will
result in more providers. Currently, there is great demand for
primary care physicians and with more students attending
medical school due to government grants, resultantly a greater
number of providers will be available and will increase the
populations access to healthcare (Shi & Singh, 2014). The
attribute of the number of students going to medical school
relates to the access to healthcare in the United States.
The next attribute of healthcare identified it the readings of Shi
and Singh (2014) is the cost of prescription drugs. The cost of
prescription drugs impacts individuals overall cost of
healthcare. The cost of prescriptions drugs can greatly increase
in a short period, and in 2014 and 2015, there was a twelve-
percent increase on overall spending on prescription drugs (Shi
& Singh, 2014). The cost of prescription drugs has also been a
hot topic in politics. The president of the United States has
claimed that the cost of prescription drug prices went down last
year for the first time in 51 years (Rizzo, 2019). In the report by
The Washington Post, it was found that the statement and
claims made by the president were skewed and in 2018, there
was an increase in 4,412 brand-name drugs and a price cut to
only 46 brand-name drugs in the first seven months of the year
(Rizzo, 2019). The cost of prescription coverage effects the
overall cost of healthcare to individuals and has been a topic of
focus politically.
The third attribute identified in the readings is the effect that
research has on healthcare. Research is directly related to the
quality of healthcare. The effect of research on healthcare
includes reducing “the risk of harm from healthcare services by
using evidence-based research and technology to promote the

5. delivery of best possible care” (Shi & Singh, 2014, p. 558).
Research also transforms practice of healthcare by increasing
access to effective services and “improves healthcare outcomes
by encouraging providers, consumers and patients to use
evidence-based information to make informed treatment
decisions” (Shi & Singh, 2014, p. 558). Research is responsible
for evidence-based practice and ultimately increasing the
quality of healthcare in the United States.
The combination of these three attributes of number of students
entering medical school, cost of prescription drugs and the
effects of research are all related to the three pillars of
healthcare. The three pillars of healthcare provide a solid
foundation to healthcare in the United States and will continue
to be improved upon through policy and healthcare reform.
Quality, cost and access to healthcare effect the health of the
United States population and will continue to remain a focus of
opportunity for improvement.
References
Rizzo, S. (2019, July 15). Are prescription drug prices going
down? The Washington Post. Retrieved from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/07/15/are-
prescription-drug-prices-going-down/Shi, L., & Singh, D.
(2014). Delivering Health Care in America (7th ed.). Sudbury,
MA: Jones and Bartlett.
-----------------------
Post # 2: Emily
Quality, cost and access are the three main pillars of the U.S
healthcare system. While we strive as a nation to maintain these
three pillars, there are many other attributes that contribute to
the system as well to consider. According to Shi and Singh
(2019), one of the biggest characteristics of the U.S healthcare
system that separates it from other developed nations is that it
is a private system of financing and delivery and not controlled

6. by a single department or agency (p. 11). This system avoids the
use of global budgets, which is defined by Shi and Singh (2019)
as “allocation of pre-established total expenditures for a health
care system or subsystem”, and allows private businesses to
finance health care expenditures independently from the
government (p.11). Having no central agency also allows for
lower taxes. Former Vice President Joe Biden, in the most
recent democratic debate, argued that use of a central agency, or
Senator Bernie Sanders proposal of “Medicare for All”, to
control the healthcare system would cause taxes to “skyrocket”
(Huetteman, 2019). While access is certainly a goal of the U.S
health care system, there are other characteristics that could
effect the American people as well to consider.
Another characteristic of the U.S healthcare system is
that access to health care services is based on insurance
coverage (Shi & Singh, 2019, p. 10). There are multiple ways
Americans can access health care services, however there are
barriers if patients are uninsured. One of the main barriers to
safe health care delivery to the uninsured is the lack of access
to primary care services (Shi & Singh, 2019, p. 12). Because of
these barriers, Americans are encouraged to insure themselves
either through their employers or through a government health
program. According to a report by Wolfson (2019), California
will begin issuing tax penalties to those who are uninsured.
Lastly, research and innovation in the medical field is
one of the reasons the U.S has some of the best hospitals in the
world and one of the characteristics that contributes to quality
health care delivery (Shi & Singh, 2019, p. 16). However,
balancing these new advances and providing cost-effective care
can be a challenge (Mawali, Pinto, & Hinai, 2018, p. 442).
According to Mawali, Pinto, and Hinai (2018), government
systems must regulate “assessment, planning, and budgeting to
formal evaluation, procurement, warehousing, distribution,
utilization, maintenance, replacement, and disposal” in order to
meet the needs of developing processes while also maintaining a
budget (p. 442).

7. Providing high-quality, cost-effective and accessible care
is a challenging task effected by multiple factors of the U.S
healthcare system. This issue directly impacts every American
and leaders are consistently presenting new ideas to effectively
reach these goals to satisfy citizens. With diseases growing
more complex and technology advancing to diagnose, treat and
prolong the lives of many, the challenge of maintaining these
pillars is becoming more of an issue.
References
Huetteman, E. (December 20, 2019). Democrats Debate Whether
‘Medicare For All’ Is ‘Realistic’. Kaiser Health News.
Retrieved from
https://khn.org/news/democrats-debate-whether-medicare-for-
all-is-realistic/
Mawali, A. A.-, Pinto, A. D., & Hinai, A. T. A.-. (2018).
Medical Equipment and Healthcare Technology: Health Vision
2050. Biomedical Instrumentation and
Technology, (6), 442. Retrieved
from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e
dsgao&AN=edsgcl.563952593&site=eds-live
Shi, L., & Singh, D. (2019). Delivering Health Care in America
(7th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Wolfson, J.B. (December 13, 2019). Californians without health
insurance will pay a penalty — or not. Kaiser Health News.
Retrieved from
https://khn.org/news/californians-without-health-insurance-will-
pay-a-penalty-or-not/