Education Improves Health Status
Using Healthcare Economics to Discuss U.S. Healthcare Issues
The health status in the United States is considered moderate yet the country spends more on healthcare than any other. Read how more education is the key to improvement.
Health Status in the United States
The health status of United States citizens is considered moderate despite this country’s spending more on healthcare per capita than any other country, due to a problem in the allocation of funds. Yet, it is not only finances that lead to these inequalities in healthcare. According to an article on inequalities in healthcare by Angus Deaton, the United States “system pays too much attention to health care delivery and to drugs and too little to the effects on health and the 'upstream' social and economic arrangements.” Healthcare delivery disparities among social classes lead to inequalities in the level of health of these classes. Although the level of health among the richest group, partially due to income and education, may be greater, it is the health status of the poorest groups that leads to the United States’ moderate health status. There is a large disparity among these groups.
The article by James P. Smith points out the fact that lower classes have worse health because they have more stress. Smith argues that “the degree of societal level income inequality is seen to have a direct bearing on its average health.” People in lower economic classes are subjected to more stress, both physically and emotionally. People must work harder physically for their money, performing hard labor and other physically strenuous jobs. The poor also endure more emotional stress as they worry more about meeting their needs financially. The jobs of the lower class are more stressful also because they involve more tedious duties, with little or no governance over one’s performance. Job stress is directly related to a lower level of health. In turn, when more resources are spent on healthcare, then individuals become even more poor. In short, poor health and lower income are directly associated. Members of the lower classes are, for the most part, stuck in a vicious cycle.
Yet, this cycle can be broken. Education has been shown to have a positive impact on health. The more a person is educated, the longer he will live. Deaton states that “more and better education improves both earnings and health.” He also provides evidence that shows that “an additional year of education reduces mortality rates.” Educated citizens are more forward looking, more aware of problems, and have been given the skills needed in order to deal with the problems they face.
It has also been proven beneficial for health status if members of lower classes improve their economic status. Deaton states that "a policy of income provision to the poor may well be more effective than spending the same amount of public funds on a weak health care delivery system." This involves improving health of the poor by increasing their income. Yet, this recommendation sacrifices the health of the richest in order to meet a higher level of health status for the nation as a whole.
A Need For More Education
Although the United States spends the most on healthcare, this country is not allocating those funds in a way that provides equal opportunities for a satisfactory level of health among every social/ economic class. The clearest, less sacrificial choice for improved distribution of funds in healthcare, is more education, especially among the poorest classes. More resources need to be allocated to education, and not just public awareness campaigns for public health problems that face the lowest economic classes.
References:
Deaton, Angus. (2002). Policy Implications of the Gradient of Health and Wealth. Health Affairs.
Smith, James P. (1999). Healthy Bodies and Thick Wallets: The Dual Relation Between Health and Economic Status. The Journal of Economic Perspectives.
