Healthcare - the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in human beings- is widely debated on whether it is a guaranteed right and who is responsible for providing it. What makes healthcare reform so difficult is the many different industries and professions involved. At a regular doctor’s appointment, one might notice the many secretaries and staff people who organize the business-side of the practice. Then, there are nursing staff and technicians who are trained to perform simple medical procedures and check-ups. Then, there are building staff, such as cleaners, and other administrative professionals. All of this does not include the actual doctors and medical professionals at a facility. The healthcare industry is growing at an expansive rate due to an aging …show more content…
Statistics show that one in eight Americans are employed in the U.S. healthcare industry. Overall, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that there are 16 million medical-related jobs out there, not including the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. In the United States, the healthcare industry makes up nearly one-sixth of the economy, yet a substantial portion of the American population lacks health insurance. Americans have never neared consensus about what role government should play in ensuring health coverage for all. Despite the fact that most other major industrialized countries have established some system of universal healthcare, the United States remains one of the only advanced industrialized democracies in the world without universal coverage. While this in itself is not a problem, the United States also spends more on health care as a percentage of gross domestic product than any other advanced country in the world and has worse health outcomes – with lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and higher obesity rates than comparable countries like Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and