The United States of America is supposed to be the greatest nation on earth. We are supposed to celebrate freedom and praise equality. We are all supposed to have the opportunity to live a nice, long, wonderful life.There are quite a few problems that make the above difficult, to say the least. One of the most important, however, is America’s health care. America has a terrible health care system, especially when compared to other first world countries. This private system America uses to treat the sick is ludicrous. This system hurts many Americans and is ridiculous. In the interest of freedom and equality, the state of Iowa needs to be the first to enact a single-payer system in the United States. From the 1960s to today health …show more content…
Because of this “approximately twenty to forty-five thousand people die in the United States each year due to a lack of health insurance.” (Obamacare) Not only that but “about fifty-three million Americans have admitted, with or without insurance, they cannot afford to see a doctor.” (LUHBY) That means even those that pay expensive bills every month to their healthcare so that if they get sick they will be covered do not use it. My own family has been in similar situations. Until this year, I had not been to a dentist since 2012. Not because my parents were not insured, not because I had perfect teeth, but because even with their expensive health care plans it costs hundreds of dollars to see a dentist or doctor and people in lower middle class like my parents were could not afford it. Considering wealthy people in the United States can afford better health care it should be no surprise that they live, “on average over eleven years longer than their poorer counterparts.” (GARCIA) Now in America, the place where everyone is supposed to be equal, we let the rich buy longer lives than the …show more content…
"Single-Payer System: Why It Would Ruin US Healthcare.” Medscape. 29 Sept. 2015. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/851264 Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) "Single-Payer Myths; Single-Payer Facts." Physicians for a National Health Program. 4 May 2016. http://www.pnhp.org/facts/singlepayer_myths_singlepayer_facts.php Shafrin, Jason. "Health Care Around the World: Canada." Healthcare Economist. 25 Apr. 2008. http://healthcare-economist.com/2008/04/25/health-care-around-the-world-canada/ ProCon. “Should all Americans have the right (be entitled) to healthcare?” 5 Jan. 2015 http://healthcare.procon.org Garcia, Ahiza. “Life expectancy gap for rich and poor is widening.” 18 Feb. 2016. http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/18/news/life-expectancy-income-brookings/ Luhby, Tami. “Millions can’t afford to go to the doctor.” 26 April 2013. http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/26/news/economy/health-care-cost/ Schulz, Peggy. “Let’s tackle cost of healthcare.” 16 Nov. 2013. http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/lets-tackle-cost-of-health-care-b99141851z1-232139011.html Obamacare Facts. “Facts on Deaths Due to Lack of Health Insurance in the United States.” 2016.
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.
Many people of which do not know, or even understand programs, or funds that can assist them in these situations they are in. People not knowing or cannot afford health care is a huge problem especially considering the fact that many Americans are elderly or suffer from acute disease, disabilities, and even mental disorders. Without proper health care many of these Americans will suffer tremendously and their symptoms may develop even worse without proper medication and help. This cannot be given without affordable health care.
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.
Variations in life expectancy and its changes are one major cause of rising income inequality. How long a person lives, as well as their quality of health, can have an important and huge impact on their income and social mobility. The life expectancy of the bottom 10% increases at only half the rate that the life expectancy of the top 10% does (Belsie). This shows that improvements in medicine benefit the wealthy more than the poor. The less wealthy have decreased access to good medical insurance and cannot afford more expensive, quality medical care. The poor are less likely to invest in healthy food and exercise, lowering life expectancy and overall health. These changes result in a cycle that causes the poor to be less healthy, and the less healthy to become increasingly poor. On the other side, the rich have different variations of habits, education, and environments, which can affect life expectancy, often positively for the
Health insurance, too many American citizens, is not an option. However, some citizens find it unnecessary. Working in the health care field, I witness the effects of uninsured patients on medical offices. Too often, I see a “self-pay” patient receive care from their doctor and then fail to pay for it. Altogether, their refusal to pay leaves the office at a loss of money and calls for patients to pay extra in covering for the cost of the care the uninsured patient received. One office visit does not seem like too big of an expense, but multiple patients failing to pay for the care they receive adds up. Imagine the hospital bills that patients fail to pay; health services in a hospital are double, sometimes triple, in price at a hospital. It is unfair that paying patients are responsible for covering these unpaid services. Luckily, the Affordable Care Act was passed on March 23, 2010, otherwise known as Obamacare. Obamacare is necessary in America because it calls for all citizens to be health insured, no worrying about pre-existing conditions, and free benefits for men and women’s health.
As part of the Affordable Care Act, beginning this year Medicaid will expand eligibility to include all uninsured individuals under the age of 65 whose incomes fall at or below 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, or about $32,500 for a family of four. However, the 2012 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the law also allowed states more flexibility concerning what parts of the ACA they can implement and said that those same states would not lose federal funding for their existing programs. This result would leave the decision to opt out of the law's provision into the hands of state legislators. While twenty-six states have chosen to expand healthcare coverage, twenty-one states have not and four have yet to make a decision. The state of Florida is among those not seeking to expand coverage and that decision alone could cost Florida millions of dollars a year in tax penalties. As conservative and liberal state lawmakers square off into a maelstrom of debate over whether Medicaid should cover more people, thousands of uninsured Floridians will be caught in the crossfire.
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...
Before Obamacare was passed, millions of Americans were uninsured, suffered and died prematurely each year since lack of health insurance. Insurance companies could deny any one for pre-existing illnesses or drop them when they get sick, or stop treating them when they touched annual or life-time perimeters. Over 60% of bankruptcies were associated to medical expenses, several of these people had insurance. Insurance companies had no limits on raising premiums. Preventative measures and wellness visits were not covered adequately (Mowrey, 2013).
The healthcare reform debate has been politicized in the United States for many years where there have been deliberate efforts by various stakeholders to ensure that they push for the reforms that are in line with the cost-benefit aspects that they have already envisioned. In this paper, I will attempt to prove that the reforms that have been witnessed in the healthcare in the recent years have not been effective and helpful to the society as a whole. When President Obama came into office, he promised to oversee great reforms in the healthcare which is his government he face much priority in the social policy aspects. The congress managed to pass the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
The Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, is a new health policy created by the American federal government. Its purpose is to make healthcare more affordable and friendly for the people. Unfortunately in some way that does not prove to be the case. It is becoming apparent that Obama may have made some misleading statements to help get the ACA put into action. The ACA is sprinkled with many flaws that call for a reform such as people’s current plans being terminated, high costs, and at minimum some people’s hours being cut by their employers.
With the United Nations listing health care as natural born right and the escalating cost of health care America has reached a debatable crisis. Even if you do have insurance it's a finical strain on most families.
Universal health care is medical insurance provided to all the residents of a country by their government. Out of all the major industrial countries, The United States is the only country without a universal health care system. In 2010, President Barack Obama signed a health care reform law making it illegal to be uninsured in America, which is a major step towards it. Universal Health Care should be mandatory in America because it gives everyone an opportunity to receive more equal care, the overall health of the population would increase and current insurance plans are unaffordable for many Americans.
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.
Life is full of uncertainties. Risk lurks in every nook and corner of human life. In short, life is unpredictable. We need to be prepared for such circumstances. Leading a happy life, involves good planning and analysis for your personal health. Accidents do happen and you need to be prepared for such situations. In times of high health cost, you need to get covered for health risks.