Challenges in the US Healthcare System Amid Policy Changes and Economic Pressures
The US healthcare system continues to pose significant challenges for poor Americans, with recent policies exacerbating issues by reducing access and raising costs. Starting January 2025, millions may lose their Obamacare marketplace coverage following the end of federal subsidies that previously supported around 20 million people. This development comes alongside substantial Republican-led funding cuts of over $850 billion from Medicaid and CHIP, aimed to finance tax cuts, while also potentially risking about $500 billion in Medicare funding due to budgetary constraints.
Despite these difficulties, wealthy investors have been actively pouring approximately $12.5 billion over the last 25 years into anti-aging startups. Notable figures in this investment landscape include Sam Altman with Retro Biosciences, Eric Schmidt, Vinod Khosla, and Mark Zuckerberg.
Meanwhile, US life expectancy has declined since 2010, with figures in 2023 indicating shorter lifespans than in many peer countries. For context, the US life expectancy is lower than that of Albania, Czechia, Chile, and Panama and is four years shorter than the average in Puerto Rico.
The American healthcare system’s highly expensive and predominantly private, profit-driven nature contributes to these outcomes. There remains inadequate access to essential determinants of health such as employment, clean water, and insurance—all factors closely linked to poverty. Although a 2013 NIH study titled US Health in International Perspective recommended adopting policies based on other countries' successes, the US government has yet to implement these suggestions, leaving systemic problems unresolved.
