Price of Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Price of Healthcare - Essay ExampleIn 2005, the average person pass close to $6,000. Medical bills were of unforesightful concern to families in the 1950s but the medical technology seems antediluvial by todays standards. Half a century ago, a persons life sentence was approximately 68 where today, it is a decade longer. Those in their 40s today can passably expect to see their 80th birthday. Most, presumably, would prefer to spend more money to live longer which is what has happened. From this perspective, healthcare could be considered a good return on an investment. The benefits and costs of healthcare are not orthogonal yet many do not understand why they have to pay more than they did equivalent to the 1950s or even to 1999. People generally consider healthcare costs to be a commodity in the same way they think of electricity or gasoline where price has little bearing on the quality of the product.The medical system of the U.S. does experience waste from sources such as bureaucratic expenses generated from insurance companies and unproven procedures that are expensive and are yet to be proven effective. The main reasons for the change magnitude medical cost increases, however, are visible and obvious. They can be readily observed in hospitals and in peoples home medicine cabinets as well. CAT Scan and MRI machines, specialized neonatal apparatus and defibrillators in addition to numerous other high-tech hospital gadgets such as insubstantial hearts are very expensive. Prescription prices have also risen which adds to the total costs cogitate to healthcare (Leonhardt, 2006).The price of prescriptions are not determined by production costs or by monies allocated to researching new drugs. Competition, projected volume of sales as opposed to actual sales and estimates of revenue produced by the product are among other factors drive drug prices.