The Health Insurance Crisis in America

2561 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Escalating costs of healthcare

Health insurance comes as second nature to many of us. We grab that blue and white card and put it in our wallet and forget about it until we are sick or injured. When this happens, there it is, cushioning our fall like the extra padding it provided to cushion our wallets. This is not the case with everyone, however. Many Americans have no cushion to fall back on, no blue and white card to show the emergency room when they have an unexpected health concern. No HMO with a convenient co-pay amount when their son or daughter develops an ear infection.

Medicine and other health services are expensive without these important conveniences that many people lack. These people have been “falling through the cracks” in U.S.

health care system for years, leaving many citizens wondering: why would our country do this to us?

Our great and powerful nation, the United States, a country that much of the world views as the most highly developed nation in the world, is the only industrialized country that does not provide its citizens with universal health care, according to a report by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA 1). Being that we are a capitalist economy, perhaps the government feels it is the duty of the people to make sure they are taken care of. This makes sense, doesn’t it? We are all smart individuals; we can make decisions and take action for ourselves. But what can the individuals do when the cost of insurance and health care is too high for them to handle?

In the United States, the answer is nothing. A 2002 census published by the Public Information office showed that there are 41.2 million Americans who do not have health insurance (Bergman). That amounts to a startling 14.6 percent of the population, up from...

... middle of paper ...

...ently, without expensive health insurance, Americans are in a bind. If they cannot afford health insurance, they surely cannot afford the medical bills that will fall upon them should they need to be hospitalized.

Every other country in the world that is on the same level as America industrially and developmentally offers universal health care to its citizens. Some Americans are worried about the rise in taxes if the government offers guaranteed care to everyone. The insurance companies will suffer, as well. But the sacrifice is more than worth it.

America was founded on the basis of freedom for all. Shouldn’t we all, regardless of income, be free to enjoy as many years of health as we deserve?

Sources Cited

National Rural Health Association

http://www.apa.org/rural/report99.html

Lardie, Diane Universal Healthcare Action Network

http://www.uhcan.org/

Show More
Related

  • Rethinking the U.S. Health Care System: A Call for Efficiency

    1854 Words  | 4 Pages

    People who are in favor of universal health care in the U.S. use the argument that the U.S. was built upon the basic ideals, the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” and that we all have the right to at least a minimum standard of living. To deny universal health care is to deny these basic ideals and rights to the people and therefore unconstitutional. Not only is it unconstitutional, it is also immoral. It is immoral to deny people health care, allowing them to suffer and even die, just because they cannot afford it and to force people to pay so much money that they go bankrupt for a basic right. In 2007 about 62% of all U.S. bankruptcies were related to medical expenses. If the U.S. had universal health care, medical bankruptcies would no longer be an issue (Top 10 Pros & Cons). Universal health care would also be beneficial to the economy. Businesses and employers would no longer have to pay for health insurance for their employees and the government wouldn’t waste as much per capita on health care as it does now without a universal health care system. It would also allow people to be more willing to take entrepreneurial risks because they won’t fear having to go without health insurance (Why The U.S.

    Read More

  • Organizational Systems And Quality Leadership

    1835 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Health Care: Enforcing the Social Contract

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    The U.S. Constitution is a good foundation for implementing health care for people all over the world and article 1 section 8 clause 1 explains the power of government when it comes to health care. According to the Enduring Democracy book, "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States..." (Dautrich, C-5). In other words, the government has the power to allow everyone the right to health care since our taxes are already being collect for the common defense and general welfare. General welfare refers to health care in which the government may provide.

    Read More

  • Reducing the Cost of Health Care for all Americans

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sickle Cell Case Study

    1537 Words  | 4 Pages

    What is Sickle cell disease? Sickle cell affects a disease; that disease is called which affects the hemoglobin when the red blood cells that send oxygen through the body are killed off and weakened. Sickle cells can be found in every 1 and 1000 African Americans, it is affecting about 70,000 to 80,000 Americans in the United States. Sickle cell is a death threatening disease, and the severity of symptoms can vary from person to person (Sickle cell disease (SCD), 2015). Some people have light conditions, but others can have severe conditions, which, mean they could be hospitalized. Characteristics of this disease are caused by a minimum of low blood cells, which is called anemia.

    Read More

  • Sickle Cell Disorder Case Study

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) (also known as Sickle Cell Disorder or Sickle Cell Anemia) is an inherited blood disorder where the red blood cells have abnormal sickle-shaped hemoglobin S (HbS) called sickle haemoglobin (National Heart Lungs and Blood Institute (NHLBI), 2015). The disease, according to medical sciences, is inherited from both parents as part of their genetic makeup and is usually caused by some abnormalities in haemoglobin which is a protein in red blood cells that conveys oxygen through the body. Whereas normal red blood cells are round, in people with sickle cell anemia, a defective substance in red blood cells changes the shape of the cells. The normal haemoglobin called haemoglobin A (HbA) is replaced by HbS which later becomes

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Obama Care

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    In recent years, the number of Americans who are uninsured has reached over 45 million citizens, with millions more who only have the very basic of insurance, effectively under insured. With the growing budget cuts to medicaid and the decreasing amount of employers cutting back on their health insurance options, more and more americans are put into positions with poor health care or no access to it at all. At the heart of the issue stems two roots, one concerning the morality of universal health care and the other concerning the economic effects. Many believe that health care reform at a national level is impossible or impractical, and so for too long now our citizens have stood by as our flawed health-care system has transformed into an unfixable mess. The good that universal healthcare would bring to our nation far outweighs the bad, however, so, sooner rather than later, it is important for us to strive towards a society where all people have access to healthcare.

    Read More

  • Problems With the U.S. Healthcare System

    1646 Words  | 4 Pages

    What Seems To Be The Problem? A discussion of the current problems in the U.S. healthcare system.

    Read More

  • America Needs Affordable Health Insurance

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    Health Insurance is one of the nations top problems, the cost is rising for premiums, and many businesses just cannot afford it. As Americans many of us have the luxury of health insurance, but far too many of us have to go without it. This is something that always seems to brought up at congressional debates, but little is done about it. “In 2013 there were 41 million people reported with out health insurance coverage, this is too many considering those people probably were sick at some point through out the year, and they couldn’t afford treatment.” We need to find someway to make sure that every citizen of the United States is able to have affordable healthcare for themselves, and their families.

    Read More

  • sickle cell

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    Unfortunately this disease is passed down from the parent to the child genetically. “If both parents have sickle cell trait (each have one normal hemoglobin gene and one sickle cell gene), the child has a 50% chance of inheriting sickle cell trait (one normal gene, one sickle cell gene), 25% chance of inheriting sickle cell disease (two sickle cell genes), and 25% chance of not inheriting either the trait or the disease (two normal genes) (Harvey)”.

    Read More

  • Healthcare in the United States

    1388 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Children with Sickle Cell Disease

    2200 Words  | 5 Pages

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sickle cell disease (SCD) affects millions of people worldwide and predominantly affects descendants from sub-Saharan Africa, South and Central America, the Caribbean, Saudi Arabia, India; and the Mediterranean. Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder of the red blood cells where the red blood cells comprises of predominantly hemoglobin S, an abnormal type of hemoglobin (2011). Two most common types of sickle cell disease seen in the clinical setting are Sickle Cell Anemia (SS) and Sickle-Hemoglobin C Disease (SC) (Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, 2014, para.1).

    Read More

  • Sickle Cell Amenia: A Change of the Blood

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sickle Cell Anemia is a blood disorder which is passed down from parents to a child. Many people have Sickle Cell Anemia in the U.S and around the world. These people have a wide variety of symptoms, varying from semi-severe to life threatening problems while others live with little to no recognizable symptoms.

    Read More

  • Access To Health Care Essay

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sickle Cell Anemia Essay

    1969 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hemoglobin S is an autosomal recessive mutation which means that a person must have two copies of the mutation in order for the disease to occur in the body (Maakaron). If a person carries one copy of the sickle cell trait, they will not have sickle cell anemia and will most likely not experience any negative effects. The children of someone carrying a sickle cell trait can inherit the gene and develop the disease if the other parent passes down another sickle cell trait. There is a twenty five percent chance of inheriting sickle cell anemia if both parents have just one sickle cell trait (Sickle Cell Anaemia).

    Read More

More about The Health Insurance Crisis in America

Open Document