Health Care System: Private or Public Essay

Main Argument: Is America’s health-care system better than Canada’s? Thoresen, S. T. , & Fielding, A. (2011). Universal health care in Thailand: Concerns among the health care workforce. Health Policy, 99(1), 17-22. Retrieved from https://0-www-clinicalkey-com. catalog. lib. cmich. edu/ Stian H. Thoresen and Angela Fielding, authors of the article â€Å"Universal health care in Thailand: Concerns among the health care workforce†, write about the controversial topic of public health care from the Thai health care professionals perspective. The article is based off of interviews with health care professionals who work in dealing with patients who are covered by public health care. One quote, â€Å"Health care professionals at public hospitals, particularly in rural areas, have experienced up to a doubling in the number of daily out-patients; many with superficial symptoms,† is what Thoresen and Fielding were under the impression of after the interviews. They also followed up with another quote stating, â€Å"While the improved access to health care provisions was welcomed, questions regarding the appropriateness of seeking medical advice were raised. This specific article is perfect for my topic in a number of ways. Thoresen and Fielding bring up their findings perfectly because they use their interviews with professionals who work in public health care to back up their argument. This would be a great source for my paper because not only is it a real life example of public health care, it is another country with public health care which would show that the point is to not bash the Canadian health care system, but to show an international comparison. The two authors stated, â€Å"There are potentials for health care professionals to congregate in the private sector and urban areas where workloads are perceived to be less demanding. † Relating back to a previous quote, it was understood that public health care equals more health care facilities populated with patients, whereas with private, it seems it is not so crowded which can lead one to believe that patients are only seeking care when absolutely needed. Thoresen and Fielding bring up a debatable argument that is universal to all (private and public health care owners) and present their findings appropriately. Funds have been set in place to build what he explained as a â€Å"public-private partnership†. This type of health care system is all made possible because of a philanthropy type fund from different organizations. Dolan explains, â€Å"The fund will rely on $87 million in loans from Morgan Stanley in exchange for tax credits to build 500 new affordable housing units and eight new health centers serving 75,000 people. † Dolan’s article, â€Å"U. S. news: Public-private fund aims at health care, housing gap†, would fit in my paper as an example how people can make the best out of private health care. Private versus public health care is so controversial due to the fact that one party, whether it be the patients or professionals, are going to suffer expense wise. Of course private health care is more costly for the average person than public health care; Dolan explains a way for both the people of private health care, as well as health care services to get a fair end of the deal. He explains the idea well due to the fact that solves the problem by bringing up an existing way to help out with private health care. Quotes from this article could easily be included into the topic of my paper. Dolan, rather than a farfetched idea like switching to private health care overnight, approaches the argument with more encouragement. Culyer, A. J. (1989). The normative economics of health care finance and provision. Oxford Journals, 5(1), 34-58. A. J. Culyer, writer of the article â€Å"The normative economics of health care finance and provision†, better explains many fine points of public health care. Culyer explains that while many believe that public health care comes along with a lot of excess spending, the real crisis is the â€Å"underfunding†. Since the government acts as the main source of funding for health care, it actually can work against the common good of the people. A. J. states that the concern of underfunding has given rise to bring up proposals for reform which includes a greater role for private insurance, out-of-pocket payments, and private health care. Although A. J. Culyer’s article is wrote in response to the medical ‘crisis’ of the UK, it still would act as a great example to show positive aspects of private health care. It is true that many believe that public health care has a lot of excess spending, but apparently, a big problem in this particular type of health care is the underfunding. Culyer’s article would be crucial in my paper because he proposes another example that would make one question public health care. It is true that the government is the main source of funds in public health care, but when assets are going towards other organizations as well money can become split up and threatened. Culyer incorporates this idea without coming off too strong, but rather makes the public health care system questionable.  Berman, M. (n. d. ). Although the main focus has been the benefits of private health care, Micah Berman offers insight on why public health care works for some countries. This article is written specifically on focuses of the U. S. health care reform in 2011. The cost of medical care in the U. S. and the Affordable Act of 2010 are two of the main topics discussed in the article. The author’s main point is that the U. S. should focus on the prevention of chronic disease, instead of treatment when those diseases appear. Berman genuinely believes that this type of reform would cut medical costs drastically. The point of my paper is not to come off demanding but informational with many sources which is why another side to the health care system is essential. Micah Berman has one quote in the article that really caught my attention, â€Å"We don’t have a health care system in America. We have a sick care system. If you get sick, you get care. But precious little is spent to keep people healthy in the first place. † It may be true that the U. S. has some of the best health care services and technology in the world, but it may also have some of the most demanding patients as well. People seem to be so focused on what types of characteristic a better health care, or in their hopes, a cheaper health care, would have, that they forget to take care of themselves in the process.