In the United States of America, there are millions of individuals that live with chronic medical problems. In which these conditions require some sort of medical attention at least once a month for revaluation, and possible treatment. Thankfully, for the majority of those individuals with their health insurance covers those costs that essentially would cripple their bank accounts. On the contrary, there are millions of people living in the United States, who are uninsured. Even with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act or as it is known by the public Obama Care, there are still individuals who cannot afford the basic needs of healthcare. Health care should not be looked at as a privilege but a right for everyone regardless of their …show more content…
From the baby Boomer generation, to the young adults just entering the work force for their first time, everyone will have the opportunity to access health care, some for the first time in their lives. Obama Care is an affordable choice for those who need it. When choosing a plan that is right for you, several options are available. “The marketplace allows individuals and small businesses to compare health plans on a level playing field.” (Key Features of ACA by year) With these baseline individuals are able to pick a plan, which is affordable for their lives. In addition to those who select their coverage, there is a separate plan for the population of Americans who are 65 years or older. This plan is known as Medicare. As with every insurance company, Medicare has separate breakdowns plans, to which coverage is not determined by your income. Medicare is an insurance plan for the baby Boomer generation. Robert B. Reich addresses the baby Boomer generation in his essay “Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer” In the essay Reich was able to address the growth of our nation as a metaphor of boats rising and falling. This quote describes how workers in the twenty first century will be responsible for the Baby Boomer’s standard of living. He …show more content…
Even with health care coverage being at the tips of our finger, we still are positioned with the question how will I pay for this, as well as where this money comes from. Reports have indicated that the United States has spent “$2.2 trillion for health care in 2007, which was an increase of 6.7% from $2.1 trillion in 2006” (Wexler). This revenue comes to all of our taxable expenses, which in turn trickles down to the Affordable Care Act. Receiving any medical care, is expensive in general, from staffing of the hospitals to creating the medication that someone needs to further their lives. Wexler addresses the increase of medication production. ” One of the fastest-growing components of health care is the market for prescription drugs. In 2006 Americans spent $216.7 billion on prescription medication—this was an 8.5% increase from $199.7 billion in 2005” (Wexler) The increase can be a good way to think of how the money is spent. We fund the projects that in turn create fundamental medications to help those who need
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.
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...
In order to make ones’ health care coverage more affordable, the nation needs to address the continually increasing medical care costs. Approximately more than one-sixth of the United States economy is devoted to health care spending, such as: soaring prices for medical services, costly prescription drugs, newly advanced medical technology, and even unhealthy lifestyles. Our system is spending approximately $2.7 trillion annually on health care. According to experts, it is estimated that approximately 20%-30% of that spending (approx. $800 billion a year) appears to go towards wasteful, redundant, or even inefficient care.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed by President Barack Obama is a significant change of the American healthcare system since insurance plans programs like Medicare and Medicaid (“Introduction to”). As a result, “It is also one of the most hotly contested, publicly maligned, and politically divisive pieces of legislation the country has ever seen” (“Introduction to”). The Affordable Care Act should be changed because it grants the government too much control over the citizen’s healthcare or the lack of individual freedom to choose affordable health 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.
Obama care is not the health care system we need in the United States. For Obama care to work it actually hurts us hard working Americans. More taxes are taken from higher incomes to ensure that lower incomes can get health insurance. Obama care punishes hard working Americans by taking more taxes out to help Americans that do not work. Is it really fair for someone that works really hard for their money to have to take more out to help people that don’t want to work or don’t want better for themselves? The wealthier should have to help the less fornicate out if they are doing all that they can do and it is still not enough. However, it is not fair for people that are not even trying and get free health care off of the wealthier that are working hard for what they have.
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.
Obamacare is a healthcare program developed in the United States and introduced to Congress in September of 2009 with the goal of creating affordable health insurance for all or most Americans. One of the main goals was to reduce health care spending within the United States and expand the availability of private and public health insurance. Although it does not control individuals’ health care, it offers numerous protections for American citizens, some of which include permitting adults to stay covered on their health insurance plans until the age of twenty-six, preventing insurance agencies from misconduct and releasing clients who are ill, as well as doing away with limits which include annual and lifetime options (Obamacare Facts). In addition to requiring insurance companies to cover people with preexisting illnesses, it also provides essential health benefits such as the right to emergency care, hospitalization, counseling and screenings for potential illnesses (Obamacare Facts). Obamacare also introduces new taxes that are created in order to subsidize costs for middle class Americans and smaller businesses, this coupled with an employer mandate to provide health insurance to all full time employees by 2015 has created a strong sense of dissatisfaction within a plethora of interest groups and political parties (Obamacare Facts).
The U.S. expends far more on healthcare than any other country in the world, yet we get fewer benefits, less than ideal health outcomes, and a lot of dissatisfaction manifested by unequal access, the significant numbers of uninsured and underinsured Americans, uneven quality, and unconstrained wastes. The financing of healthcare is also complicated, as there is no single payer system and payment schemes vary across payors and providers.
Nurse Janet Runbeck used to operate a free clinic in a janitor's lunchroom. When the Affordable Care Act came into effect, she no longer had to. The reason being is that her patients had access to health insurance, and they could no longer be denied by the insurance companies. The ACA has taken people with serious medical problems out of lunchrooms, and into fully staffed, well-maintained hospitals. If more success stories like this come along, will its critics still use the term "Obamacare" as a political insult? There are also economic benefits to this law too. Dr. David M. Cutler predicts that health insurance premiums will be lowered by $2,000 per family. Business correspondent Matt Yglesias points out that the ACA helps small businesses by granting them access to tax credits that help
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.
Through the many years of living in America, I had problems that dealt with Medicine.Some aren't able to afford it, only those with healthcare can get specific benefits.In 1915 those who made less than $1,200 a year would get covered.Now we are in the year 2017 and most people don't get to have the benefit, especially those without Medicaid.It's really hard to find a place where they accept all people.I remember when I was injured bad to where I had to go to a hospital and the only way insurance would cover it, is if I had Medicaid.So those who can't afford the Medicaid can
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.
The cost of US health care has been steadily increasing for many years causing many Americans to face difficult choices between health care and other priorities in their lives. Health economists are bringing to light the tradeoffs which must be considered in every healthcare decision (Getzen, 2013, p. 427). Therefore, efforts must be made to incite change which constrains the cost of health care without creating adverse health consequences. As the medical field becomes more business oriented, there will be more of a shift in focus toward the costs and benefits, which will make medicine more like the rest of the economy (Getzen, 2013, p. 439).