Topic > The Pros and Cons of the US Healthcare System

The US healthcare system may be considered one of the best medical services in the world, but it is complex, difficult to manage, and often very expensive. Although the U.S. healthcare system is the most expensive in the world, it has consistently underperformed in most aspects of healthcare delivery compared to other developed nations (Davis, Stremikis, Squires, & Schoen, 2014). Private sector stakeholders play an important role in the U.S. healthcare system, particularly the health insurance system, while the federal government's major health insurance programs focus on Medicare and Medicaid. Paradoxically, both public and private payers obtain healthcare services from providers whose services are regulated. This implies that a significant percentage of the population did not have any form of health insurance coverage. Regardless of the type of health insurance coverage, medical services are not entirely free as consumers are likely to incur some out-of-pocket costs every time they seek healthcare. These costs are for medications, copays, deductibles, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket costs or a combination of these items. Regarding the above trends, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 was established as the most significant healthcare reform program with the primary goal of expanding health insurance coverage to the uninsured and people with a lower income. In an effort to improve the quality of healthcare and reduce costs, health information technology has been identified as the critical element in achieving these goals. In this regard, healthcare organizations must adapt to the new healthcare delivery environment through organizational change, which is often linked to transformational leaders. . According to Borkowski, Deckard, Weber, Padron, and Luongo (2011), transformational leaders are able to successfully change an organization's culture and develop alignment of systems-level strategies to meet the needs of the surrounding environment. Healthcare reform includes initiatives aimed at transforming the healthcare sector. Therefore, a transformational leadership style is needed to successfully create and communicate an organization's vision with inspirational motivation and enable others to realize the desired vision. This implies that health reform initiatives should be led by visionary leaders capable of governing democratically. This would enable cooperation and facilitate an atmosphere where all or most healthcare professionals can work together to ensure that new initiatives and systems are implemented.