Healthcare Crisis Insurance

Running head: THE HEALTHCARE CRISIS

The Healthcare Crisis: South Korea and America Insurance

While living in this world, people get sick or injured in accident. When they go to the hospital, they are treated by doctors and get some drugs. People have to pay for the treatment; however, seeing doctors and getting some prescript medicine cost a lot today. Therefore, they are buying health insurance. If we have health insurance, we can get some treatment for a lower price. In spite of the beneficial aspects of health insurance, are some inconveniences for people who are living in this world. Despite of the difference between countries, there are countries that have good healthcare systems, many other countries do not. On the other had there are that don't. There are lots of reasons why this good and bad system such as, insurance fees are very high and doctors discriminate treatment. As a result, people who cannot afford to buy healthcare insurance cannot be treated by hospitals. This is a very serious problem for all people. We need to solve this quality of medical service problem immediately because they need to be equally treated. Many lives are being lost. Every country has own healthcare system. Health insurance is all different because countries have different visions and different governmental system. Some countries have very strong healthcare; however, other countries have very poor healthcare. My country, South Korea, also didn't have good healthcare system. I want to know how it works and what is the problem and solution for the better healthcare system. Also, I want to study about systematic difference of healthcare between countries. There are lots of opinions about the problems, and each has a great solution. I research in the books and internet news. This is very serious problem among the people so this topic is keep discussing. Why still healthcare crisis is occurring? I will talk about each countries healthcare insurances, which controls it, what affected them in unstable statement and solution of the healthcare crisis

First, I will talk about the South Korea's insurance. South Korea is a developing country. But in 1997, Korea went through the great economic depression. With the assistance of the international Monetary Fund, Korean national health insurance gradually has experienced disruption. In addition, health insurance changed private health insurance in to government-mandated universal coverage.

South Korea makes a perfect universal health insurance in the 1970's. Until 1977, South Korea have health insurance was voluntary. In 1970's president Park Chung Hee passed a law that mandated medical insurance for employees and their firms. Health insurance coverage was expanded to different groups in society. Every year government tried to registered people who wanted to get health insurance. First, in 1979, government employees, school teachers and every industrial worker were registered for health insurance. And in late 1980 health insurance expansions were changed into regionally base. This situation was led by Korea government. (Choi, 2001)

Insurance achievements began and the government recommended medical insurance for employees and the firms that employees are keep depending. The National health insurance branched out the whole country. This kind of development makes every other country analysts surprised. However, soon, Korean national health insurance was weakened in financially; from 1990 to 1995. Most of the administration and finance had well done until the 1990s except part. (Peabody & Lee, 1995)

Unfortunately, in 1996 to 1997, economy crisis has arrived. As soon as Korean economy was affected by the IMF, Nation Health Insurance grew badly. Government raised the insurance fee to make up for the surplus; People who were in the health policy kept thinking that governments rising insurance fee cannot solve the huge problem. In addition, Nation Health Insurance was not able to control healthcare.

Korean government has kept showing the interest in regulating in health insurance costs. They found out that health care services were provided by doctors and pharmacists.

In conclusion, Korean peoples have been exposed to harmful health services.

According to Jong-Chan Lee, Dr PH (2002), a professor in A-Jou University of South Korea, he reported The Financial Crisis in Korean Health Care.

There are three interrelated weaknesses in the Korean health care system. First, medical expert make up more than 80% of practicing medical doctors in Korea. Furthermore, most of the medical doctors have two or more specialties. Korean medical cares costs are keep increasing because of experts generate high-technique and expensive tests and treatment in high commercialized in University hospitals. Second, the private medical care presently consumes about 90% of total health care resources, especially in hospital bed. Third, pharmaceutical expenditures have consumed about 30% of the total health expenditures.

Someday I heard that when the minister of health and welfare was replaced, he would be the target of criticism for destabilizing health insurance policy. I wonder whether the problem will be solved after the minister of health and welfare is replaced. Even though I learned that Korea's healthcare insurance has many problems, it is getting better.

I read about lots of articles about United States Health care crisis. The United States face a medical problem as well. National healthcare costs are speedily increasing out of control. Many people are throwing out the healthcare expenses for every body and retired people. They are afraid of loss of competitiveness.

Francis David (2005) said in his essay, why the healthcare crisis won't go away: The average of American pay $6,420 worth of healthcare services a year this is much expensive than one people pay is more than $12,200 a year for the average family. This is very odd and inefficient system among the industrial countries. US healthcare costs have reached $1.6 trillion a year. It is 15 percent of the nation's economy. Cost of the healthcare increasing 5% from the year of 1963. The US pays more than twice as much as each person in other wealthy countries. Cost is still increasing. Drug inflation is very high. US government should do something.This is also serious problem and I heard that almost 45 million Americans don't having a regular health insurance; everybody is having indifferent expectations from the health care system.

Thirteen years ago, when Bill Clinton was in the office, he promised to do something about rising health care costs. The US health care system was looked okay at first. Soon, however, this wasn't going well because it became mess again. As the combinations of problems made the politicians to confront the insurance and lobbies, it really destroyed the Clinton's effort. Temporary solution of the growth of health care spending was to limit cost increasing. Again, rising medical costs forced health care problems back into political affair. The problem of medical costs was so pervasive that many other different policy crises broke out. Increasing number of employees who were not covered with health insurance was getting increase. One more is largely a problem if health care costs.

According to Krungman P (2006) essay, The Health Care Crisis and What to do about it:

Krungman P (2006) said that there are good and bad side of healthcare crisis. The good side is that we know the economics of health care better than people did however, the other side Clinton failed to make a good health program. There are lots of positive and negative results. We can see really US health care system is its separations. The bad side is that Washington seems impossible to accepting the evidence on health care. Therefore, it determined to pursue policies that will increase the separation of system.

A number of elements will define the new outline of healthcare. People will experiment upon the possibility of the health care system.

While I write this paper, I researched lots of articles such as other people's essay, and report. Now I realize the meaning of healthcare crisis. There are lots of problem in the healthcare and government has not clearly solved these problems so far. I was very surprised about the money which involves in countries economy. It takes a big spot of the countries. Crisis of the health insurance cannot allow people to live healthy life. They have to get some benevolence from their insurance. Korea and U.S both have no perfect solution for the crisis. Government needs to care about the healthcare insurance to make people in comfortable situation. For this reason, they should the find the alternatives to settle down all the health insurance problems.