Health Care in the United States

Health care in the United States is provided by many distinct organizations.

The United States of America, commonly referred to as the United States or America, is a federal republic composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions.

Health care or healthcare is the maintenance or improvement of health via the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in human beings.

The Modern Healthcare System in the United States by The Science Of You

Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by private sector businesses.

The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the State.

The Healthcare System of the United States by Healthcare Triage

58% of US community hospitals are non-profit, 21% are government owned, and 21% are for-profit.

According to the World Health Organization, the United States spent more on health care per capita, and more on health care as percentage of its GDP, than any other nation in 2011.

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health.

64% of health spending was paid for by the government in 2013, funded via programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and the Veterans Health Administration.

The Veterans Health Administration is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health that implements the medical assistance program of the VA through the administration and operation of numerous VA Medical Centers, Outpatient Clinics, Community Based Outpatient Clinics, and VA Community Living Centers Programs.

The State Children's Health Insurance Program – now known more simply as the Children's Health Insurance Program – is a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children.

Medicaid in the United States is a social health care program for families and individuals with limited resources.

People aged under 67 acquire insurance via their or a family member's employer, by purchasing health insurance on their own, or are uninsured.

The number of people without health insurance coverage in the United States is one of the primary concerns raised by advocates of health care reform.

Health insurance for public sector employees is primarily provided by the government.

The United States life expectancy of 79.8 years at birth, up from 75.2 years in 1990, ranks it 42nd among 224 nations, and 22th out of the 35 industrialized OECD countries, down from 20th in 1990.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an intergovernmental economic organisation with 35 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade.

Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of their birth, their current age and other demographic factors including sex.

Of 17 high-income countries studied by the National Institutes of Health in 2013, the United States had the highest or near-highest prevalence of obesity, car accidents, infant mortality, heart and lung disease, sexually transmitted infections, adolescent pregnancies, injuries, and homicides.

The National Institutes of Health is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research, founded in the late 1870s.

Infant mortality refers to deaths of young children, typically those less than one year of age.

On average, a U.S. male can be expected to live almost four fewer years than those in the top-ranked country, though notably Americans aged 75 live longer than those who reach that age in other developed nations.

A 2014 survey of the healthcare systems of 11 developed countries found the US healthcare system to be the most expensive and worst-performing in terms of health access, efficiency, and equity.

Americans undergo cancer screenings at significantly higher rates than people in other developed countries, and access MRI and CT scans at the highest rate of any OECD nation.

Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body.

Diabetics are more likely to receive treatment and meet treatment targets in the U.S. than in Canada, England, or Scotland.

Gallup recorded that the uninsured rate among U.S. adults was 11.9% for the first quarter of 2015, continuing the decline of the uninsured rate outset by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. A 2012 study for the years 2002–2008 found that about 25% of all senior citizens declared bankruptcy due to medical expenses, and 43% were forced to mortgage or sell their primary residence.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly called the Affordable Care Act and nicknamed Obamacare, is a United States federal statute enacted by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010.

In 2010 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law, providing for major changes in health insurance.

Under the act, hospitals and primary physicians would change their practices financially, technologically, and clinically to drive better health outcomes, lower costs, and improve their methods of distribution and accessibility.

A physician or medical doctor or just doctor is a professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining, or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury, and other physical and mental impairments.

The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of most of the law in June 2012 and affirmed insurance exchange subsidies in all states in June 2015.