Philly-area firm leads the hospital-bill fight vs. the $500 Tylenol

The United Kingdom's single-payer health insurance system, known as the National Health Service, has helped citizens obtain the essential care they need without having to worry about the cost of the care. While the model has shown proven success in reducing overall health costs and increasing positive health outcomes, some citizens say that care can be delayed due to demand, which leads them to pursue supplemental insurance.

While American medicine tops the charts for "acute care," it's notably sub-par when it comes to treating chronic conditions and focusing on prevention. This piece introduces a series on how the U.S. healthcare system's structure results in high expenses and inefficient treatments, and what various programs around the nation are doing to improve quality of care at lower costs.

Many U.S. medical systems are using medical-legal partnerships to help disadvantaged patients who need help navigating problems with landlords and insurers that interfere with their health.

Worker-owned home-care cooperatives are emerging as an alternative to the for-profit agencies that dominate America's direct-care sector. In these cooperatives, professional caregivers earn an average of $2 more per hour than the industry standard, share in business decision-making, and stay on the job at nearly double the rate of workers at traditional agencies. Patients also stay with co-op agencies twice as long, suggesting higher satisfaction and quality of care.

The University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Foundation’s Indigent Patient Fund helps patients who can’t afford care using a verification system to identify financially vulnerable patients, then settles their hospital bills and covers essential treatments. Since its launch, the program has mobilized over ₦28 million to support 77+ patients who were stuck in hospital wards because they couldn't pay. Over the years, the Foundation has also evolved its model to provide one-year health insurance for those with chronic conditions.

In 2017, residents of Kabuga Aisami in Kano built their own maternal and child health hospital to address maternal mortality rates and improve access to care. Led by the Kabuga Aisami Community Initiative (KACI), community members pooled resources to construct the facility, which includes two labor rooms, three wards with 40 beds, four laboratories, a pharmacy, 25 toilets, and three self-contained flats for doctors to enable 24-hour care. Patient volume has since increased by over 250%, and the hospital has expanded to serve 10 surrounding communities, as well.

Birth in Color's doulas are filling the maternity care gap as rural labor and delivery rooms close, disproportionately impacting people of color. Doulas provide physical, emotional and informational support before, during and after childbirth, and advocate on the mother’s behalf. Doula care leads to improved birth outcomes and lower rates of C-sections, and in April 2022 doula services were added under the state’s Medicaid program.

Custom, designer prosthetics that serve purposes in both function and fashion are beginning to reform the prosthetics industry, allowing people to express themselves and embrace their bodies in new ways. Researchers, developers, and larger businesses are constantly innovating to create new prosthetics that can meet a person’s every need and other companies are working to make prosthetic covers more accessible so anyone can afford the option to personalize their look.

Switzerland is home to the world's lowest avoidable mortality rate and residents of the country live longer lives and are healthier than those who live in the United States. Health policy experts credit the Swiss health care system for playing a significant role. Despite the high cost and the penalty for not carrying insurance, the system is praised as guarateeing access to quality health-care and "unlike the U.S., people rarely go bankrupt from medical bills."

A hospital in Nigeria has implemented the use of an electronic medical record (EMR) system for patients to decrease mismanagement practices and increase transparency and accountability. The card that patients are given resembles an ATM card and acts as a means of health records and payment information.