Getting America To The Top Through Healthcare Reform
Chelsea Secoolish
Microeconomics
BU224
December 2, 2012

The main objective of a market economy is to reach efficiency. Market failure is defined as “the individual pursuit of self-interest which makes society worse off, or, an inefficient market”, (Krugman, Wells, 2009). Misallocated resources, unnecessary medical care, and for-profit insurance companies all play a part in America’s failing healthcare system. As one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world with plentiful resources to boot, 40 to 50 million uninsured citizens are unacceptable (Boseley, 2012). Our government needs to step in and reform the system, but exactly how to accomplish this task has become a national issue. In addition to the debate of adopting a national healthcare system (Obamacare,) reforming the Medical Liability System, or MLS, could very well be the answer to providing healthcare for each and every United States citizen. Optimizing promising practices, ensuring patient safety, and reducing healthcare costs are all ways to effectively bring our country back up to speed in what should be a rewarding and lucrative experience for both patients and their physicians. With the United States ranking 37th out of 191countries total in terms of health care, it is not surprising that there are millions of Americans uninsured, but even more alarming is the fact that there are 38 million people in the with inadequate health care coverage (pbs.org). (Please refer to the table on page 7 for the break-down on the number of American’s covered.) These numbers are a huge deterrent when deciding whether or not to seek medical attention for non-life-threatening illnesses. This brings up the issue of primary care physicians, or PCP. PCP’s provide a central role in an individual’s health care. In trying to improve this