The Modern Health Care Maze: Development and Effects of the Four-Party System

Health care in the United States is in need of reform, yet the complex nature of the health care system makes designing an alternative plan nearly impossible. There are four primary parties involved in U.S. health care today: first party patients or those who "seek access to an imponderable variety of health care products"; second party providers or those who provide "products & services, including hospitals, physicians, nurses, physical therapists, dentists, & pharmaceutical companies"; third party payers which include private insurance companies, government programs & those who work from both agencies; & finally, fourth party employers, or those who "purchase health insurance for their employees & thereby obtain a deductible expense in calculating their federal income-tax liability." This article takes a close look at this four party payment system & argues that it has become a tremendous public-policy juggernaut with which politician seeking to reform health care continue to work. Furthermore the public policies & tax code surrounding the health care system have disabled free market mechanisms. The authors argue that the infrastructure supporting this four party payment system needs to be destroyed & the system abandoned because they distort market forces. Adapted from the source document.