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Essays health care problems in america
Health care issues in america
Health care problems in america
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United States Health Care and The Inefficiency The United States prides itself on the being the most powerful nation in the world. However, what are they putting that power towards? The answer is not Health Care. According to Vicente Navarro, “the most important component of the welfare state is the guarantee of access to health care in time of need. The United States is the only developed country who does guarantee such a right to its citizens” (Eitzen and Zinn, 2003, pp. 498). However, in 2010 under the Obama administration the Universal Health Care Act was created. Although there are still millions of citizens uninsured or under insured. This is due to unequal access to health care as well as numerous problems that occur under insurance companies. In addition to these apparent problems the United States faces the questionable future of Obamacare and Planned …show more content…
Economic disadvantage is closely associated with health disadvantages. Health insurance in the U.S. is typically tied to employment, with employers and employees splitting the cost. Lower the prestige and the lower wages in the job, the less likely the pay will include a health benefits package. Those who do not receive insurance through an eomployer can apply for Medicaid. However, “the working poor are the hardest hit because the restrictive eligibility requirements for Medicaid eliminate them from the program because, although poor, they earn too much money to qualify” (Eitzen and Zinn, 2003, pp. 501). This problem also occurs under Obamacare. Due to this, those in the lower economic class cannot afford physicians, dentists, and hospitals. As a result, high maternal death due to lack of prenatal and postnatal care. Infant mortality was 7.2 deaths per 1,000 in 1997 (Eitzen and Zinn, 2003). All time low for the U.S., however significantly higher than other industrialized
is the wealthiest country in the world and yet it is the only major industrialized country in the world that does not guarantee health care as a right to its citizens. Around 45,000 uninsured Americans die each year(What The U.S.). As a nation built upon the ideals of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” and the idea that the government is responsible for protecting it’s people’s basic rights, it is a great source of shame that the U.S. does not have universal health care. It is the government’s job to ensure it’s citizens’ rights, not make a profit off their suffering and the denial of one of their basic rights. Universal health care could save lives and ease suffering, physically, financially, and emotionally. It would take away a great financial burden off of each individual as well as the nation and government as a whole by not wasting all the per capita that we currently waste without universal health care. It would even be beneficial to capitalism because people would be more willing to take risks without the fear of having to go medically uninsured (Why The U.S.). By allowing its people to suffer and die, especially just to make a profit that will be needlessly wasted anyway, the U.S. government is committing a great immorality. Are not human lives more important than allowing greedy independent companies make a profit off of their suffering and deaths? As a country that is even willing to go to wars to protect the basic rights of foreign peoples,
On a global scale, the United States is a relatively wealthy country of advanced industrialization. Unfortunately, the healthcare system is among the costliest, spending close to 18% of gross domestic product (GDP) towards funding healthcare (2011). No universal healthcare coverage is currently available. United States healthcare is currently funded through private, federal, state, and local sources. Coverage is provided privately and through the government and military. Nearly 85% of the U.S. population is covered to some extent, leaving a population of close to 48 million without any type of health insurance. Cost is the primary reason for lack of insurance and individuals foregoing medical care and use of prescription medications.
One of the most controversial topics in the United States in recent years has been the route which should be undertaken in overhauling the healthcare system for the millions of Americans who are currently uninsured. It is important to note that the goal of the Affordable Care Act is to make healthcare affordable; it provides low-cost, government-subsidized insurance options through the State Health Insurance Marketplace (Amadeo 1). Our current president, Barack Obama, made it one of his goals to bring healthcare to all Americans through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This plan, which has been termed “Obamacare”, has come under scrutiny from many Americans, but has also received a large amount of support in turn for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include a decrease in insurance discrimination on the basis of health or gender and affordable healthcare coverage for the millions of uninsured. The opposition to this act has cited increased costs and debt accumulation, a reduction in employer healthcare coverage options, as well as a penalization of those already using private healthcare insurance.
Health Insurance is essential to Personal Well Being and your Health. For a large proportion of uninsured people, health insurance can and most often a matter of choice. Uninsured Americans normally tend to delay and even go without doctors' visits, prescription medications, and other effective treatments, even if they know they have serious or a life-threatening condition. (Institute 2009). 20 to 30 percent of uninsured children are more likely to need certain shots, prescription medications, asthma care ,basic dental care and other things that we would consider a must have. Uninsured children with conditions requiring ongoing medical attention are 6 to 8 times more likely to have health care needs and can’t get the required tools and medicine that they need. Uninsured children are also more likely than insured children to miss school due to health problems and to experience preventable hospitalizations. (Institute 2009)Many of these children are classified as being the minority out of the 20 to 30 percent of children about 15 percent are minorities (H.
America is known for democracy, freedom, and the American Dream. American citizens have the right to free speech, free press, the right to bear arms, and the right to religious freedom to name a few. The Declaration of Independence states that American citizens have the rights including “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” America promises equality and freedom and the protection of their rights as outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. But with all the rights and freedoms that American citizens enjoy, there is one particular area where the United States seems to be lacking. That area is health care. The United States is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t have some form of legal recognition of a right to health care (Yamin 1157). Health care reform in the United States has become a major controversy for politicians, health care professionals, businesses, and citizens. Those in opposition to reform claim that health care is not a human right, therefore the government should not be involved. Supporters of reform believe that health care is most definitely a human right and should be available to everyone in the United States instead of only those who can afford it, and that it is the government’s responsibility to uphold that right.
The United States spends vast amounts on its healthcare, while falling short of achieving superiority over other developed nations. One cannot overlook that the deepening recession has left many without jobs and therefore lacking health insurance. According to Fairhall and Steadman, (2009), even though the recession is hard on all, it is worse on the uninsured due to health care and insurance cost rising faster than incomes. Nevertheless, even those with jobs are lacking in health insurance due to employers, who provide insurance, are increasingly dropping their sponsored insurance. Many find that purchasing a health policy or paying for medical care out-of-pocket is cost prohibitive. “Since the recession began in December 2007, the number of unemployed Americans has increased by 3.6 million,” (Fairhall & Steadman, 2009). In 2009 it was stated that approximately 46 million Americans were uninsured, however not all of that number is due to the inability to afford coverage. According to a 2009 story written by Christopher Weaver of Kaiser Health News, 43% of that number should be classified as “voluntarily” uninsured. This subset of uninsured Americans consist of nearly half being young and healthy; therefo...
However, our system is based on money. The more money you have to spend, the better medical services you will receive. ?According to the Bureau of Labor education at the university of main (2003), America spends more money oh health care than any other nation, "$4,178 per capita on health care in 1998?, compared to the average of $1,783. (BLE., 2003, p.23). Still an estimated "42.5 million Americans are living without health insurance", which prevents them from receiving medical treatment. (Climan, Scharff, 2003, p.33). The numbers of un-insured Americans continue to rise. Tim Middleton (2002) states, ?insurance premiums grow at a rate greater than wages,? when you have a low-income job. (¶ 9). With our current economy recession, taxes are rising and small business employers are unable to purchase health plans for their employees. Employees are realizing that they are unable to gain insurance from their jobs and beginning to speak out about the high price of health care.
Until Obama-care, The United States was one of the only developed nations that did not provide some sort of health care for its citizens. To most other nations that do provide healthcare, it is because it is considered a human right that all people should be entitled to. That hasn’t been the case in America, however, where only those who could afford it could have healthcare plans. Those who stand to gain the most from universal healthcare are the already mentioned 45 million americans who currently don’t have any form of healthcare. For many of these individuals, there are many obstacles that prevent them from gaining healthcare. 80% of the 45 million are working class citizens, but either their employer doesn’t offer insurance, or they do but the individual can n...
Luckily under the new health care reform law, most people will receive help paying for their healthcare premiums and cost-sharing expenses that people with insurance have to pay out of pocket for doctor visits, and prescription medicine. Families and individuals will be able to receive this assistance with incomes between one hundred and four hundred percent of the federal poverty line. One hundred to four hundred percent makes up at about $23,000 to $94,000 a year assume this is for a family of four.
The US health system has both considerable strengths and notable weaknesses. With a large and well-trained health workforce, access to a wide range of high-quality medical specialists as well as secondary and tertiary institutions, patient outcomes are among the best in the world. But the US also suffers from incomplete coverage of its population, and health expenditure levels per person far exceed all other countries. Poor measures on many objective and subjective indicators of quality and outcomes plague the US health care system. In addition, an unequal distribution of resources across the country and among different population groups results in poor access to care for many citizens. Efforts to provide comprehensive, national health insurance in the United States go back to the Great Depression, and nearly every president since Harry S. Truman has proposed some form of national health insurance.
Ans 1) To mandate the insurance or not is a big question to be answered and still there are a lot of problems associated with mandating the Health Insurance in United States. A lot of views have been given by people regarding whether there is need of mandating the Health Insurance or not.
Health care inequality has long been customary in the United States. Those in lower classes have higher morbidity, higher mortality, higher infant mortality, and higher disability. Millions of low-income families and individuals have gone with out the care they need simply because they cannot afford it. Denial of benefits due to pre-existing conditions, outrageous deductibles, and unreasonable prescription prices are in large part why the low-income class suffers. In addition, not receiving preventative health care, lack of access to exercise equipment and lack of availability to fresh foods all create health problems that become to expensive to fix. Low-income families need to have better, more affordable access to health care, specifically preventative health care, and be more educated about the benefits of health care in order to narrow the gap of inequality. The new Affordable Care Act under the Obama administration expands heath care coverage to many low income families and individuals by lowering the eligibility requirements for Medicaid, although it is not mandatory for individual states to make this expansion for Medicaid coverage.(CITE) It also requires that preventative health care be included in coverage by insurance companies. So with all the benefits the expansion of Medicaid could offer, why would some states choose not to offer it?
Managed health care is the leading form of health care in the United States. The most common forms of managed care providers are Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO’s). The main advantage of managed health care is the lower costs associated with them. The goal of managed care is to keep health care costs down without sacrificing quality. Consumer-driven healthcare plans are beginning to emerge and grow across the country (Weaver, 2010). Consumer-directed healthcare plans are popular for employers because more of the decision making and risks fall on the employees. Therefore, reducing the amount of money the employer spends on healthcare.
According to the data given, by CTISP Community Survey 2010 by a Central Texas Region, Health care has a direct correlation to a person’s income or lack thereof. Table 1 displays a graph of respondents to a community survey about Health Care Coverage. The graph contains income amounts from $15,000 to $85,000 and percentages of people who do not receive coverage based on their income. The graph shows the lower the income the less likely to afford coverage. Table 2 displays, of those who took the survey their reasons for having no Coverage. The reason with the highest percentage was “could not afford prem...
Health insurance facilitates entry into the health care system. Uninsured people are less likely to receive medical care and more likely to have poor health. Many Americans are foregoing medical care because they cannot afford it, or are struggling to pay their medical bills. “Adults in the US are more likely to go without health care due to cost” (Schoen, Osborn, Squires, Doty, & Pierson, 2010) Many of the currently uninsured or underinsured are forced accept inferior plans with large out-of-pocket costs, or are not be able to afford coverage offered by private health insurers. This lack of adequate coverage makes it difficult for people to get the health care they need and can have a particularly serious impact on a person's health and stability.