American Health Care System-Analysis Of The Problems And The Solution

Health is an issue that affects every person directly, and health care is a basic human need. Among the most highly developed nations in the Western world, only the United States has no comprehensive system of universal health insurance. In order to explain the causes and effects of such a situation in America, this thesis will provide a relatively comprehensive description and evaluation of the American health care system, and study the feasibility of universal health insurance in the United States.This paper is a content analysis of existing literature to evaluate what is known about American health care system. This is done by conducting an extensive review of existing literature, including medical groups' reports, professional journal articles, as well as an analysis of secondary data obtained from studies previously done.This thesis is divided into four parts, consisting of five chapters:Part one (including Introduction) provides a brief literature review about universal health insurance in America, and explains the significance and purpose of this thesis.Part two includes Chapter I and Chapter II. Chapter I explains the fragmentation of American health care system. Chapter II discusses the main problems under this fragmented system.Part three (including Chapter III) focuses on universal health insurance in America. This chapter explains the necessity for universal health insurance from practical and theoretical aspects. It also lists some typical historical efforts, and analyzes factors leading to their failures.Part four (including Conclusion) summarizes lessons from previous efforts so that proponents for universal health insurance could make use of them in the current health care reform debate. It also points out the limitations of this thesis and gives suggestions for further researches.