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Why are health care prices on the rise
Why are health care prices on the rise
The real reason why healthcare costs are on the rise
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Why do Americans need health insurance? Because without it Americans cannot afford to live a good life and afford the things needed to survive. Health insurance helps pay off those debts that are too much for the casual American to afford. Homelessness is a very big factor to the reason why there are so many diseases that exist in America. Homelessness is caused by people who do not know how to manage their money responsibly. When people go out and spend money all the time, they soon run out of money and end up homeless. Bankruptcy is caused when a person’s bank account goes dry. Bankruptcy sometimes occurs when the federal government pulls too much tax money from an individual’s account. Increasing cost of medical care and the lack of adequate health insurance effects homelessness, bankruptcy and quality of life due to people not being able to afford the things they need to survive. The dramatic increase in uninsured rates causes insurance cost to rise for everyone. This makes medical care and insurance rates higher and affect people’s ability to obtain the things they need to survive. The main reason people rely on health insurance is so that they don’t have …show more content…
High health insurance costs have cost a lot of Americans to lose their jobs due to unaffordable health care costs (Kaiser). There are many people who need Medicaid but some people can’t afford Medicaid due to its high costs (Kaiser). Medicaid is an important provider to have because they help those who have no money and need a backup solution (Kaiser). Medicaid has also been known for its enormous rates of falling family income. In April of 2014 there were over 8 million people who selected plans to help take care of their everyday needs. When a person is uninsured, they are forced to pay out of pocket costs (Nunley). The total medical care insurance costs are 10% greater than the average person’s annual income (Nunley). Health insurance is a much needed insurance to
Due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law on March 23rd, 2010; health care in the US is presently in a state of much needed transition. As of 2008, 46 Million residents (15% of the population) were uninsured and 60% of residents had coverage from private insurers. 55% of those covered by private insurers received it through their employer and 5% paid for it directly. Federal programs covered 24% of Americans; 13% under Medicare and10% under Medicaid. (Squires, 2010)
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.
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.
Such rising health care costs penalize the citizens within our nation in multiple aspects. The first set of individuals that are affected are families and seniors because it affects the amount of money that goes into their pockets, which results in a difficult time balancing food, rent, and the basic necessities for living. Next, small businesses and fortune 500 employers are affected because such increased costs cause rising health care costs to become more expensive to add new employees to their payroll and more difficult to cover retiree fees when that time comes. Finally, the federal, state, and local governments are forced to increase Medicare and Medicaid costs, which results in cutting other priority funding such as public safety and education.
There are huge impacts of the rising costs. Many people can not afford health insurance. Of the families that do have health coverage, 50 percent are concerned about having to pay more for that coverage in the future, while 42 percent fear they will not be able to afford coverage at all. (National Coalition on Healthcare, 2005, Facts on heal...
insurance due to unemployment. There are also a lot of uninsured Americans that are employed, however the cost of health insurance keeps rising and many families are opting not to have the insurance so that the bills can still be paid. Lack of insurance has had the greatest effect on thousands of Americans who suffer from chronic diseases. These Americans are now unable to go to the doctor on a regular basis and keep up with their daily medicines that are necessary in order to help keep them out of the hospitals. While the number of uninsured has increased nationwide, the awareness of the general population as to the affects of the uninsured has not increased comparably.
Health insurance and health outcomes are closely associated. If the same uninsured individual instead has continuous health insurance, he or she will not be at risk for premature death and will have better health outcome (Marwick 2002). Uninsured people report that they are in poorer health than people with health insurance. Low levels of self-reported health status are a powerful predictor of future illness and premature death (Bailey 2009).
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.
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)
It is hard to imagine life without health insurance. If you have any type of medical problem that requires attention, and you have appropriate health care insurance, you can be cared for in the finest of private hospitals. You can get great treatment and your ailments, depending on the severity, can be treated as soon as possible. Doctors, physicians and surgeons are willing to put out a big effort if they know that they are dealing with patients who are insured and have the money to go under extensive medical treatment. But imagine life without such luxuries. For example, what happens if a relative requires much needed surgery, but does not have health insurance to cover the procedure? What happens if a lack of medical insurance prevents you or your family from seeing a doctor, which could result in health problems that had not been identified but could have been treated before they became life threatening? These scenarios may seem far-fetched, but these types of situations happen to people who lack health coverage everyday. There is a true story about a patient who was insured and diagnosed with treatable cervical cancer. Unfortunately, she lost her job and with it her insurance. She was then unable to see her private doctor, and was turned away from other hospitals because ?cancer treatment is not considered an emergency in a patient who can?t pay? (?Help for D.C.?s Uninsured?). The woman later died at her home without ever being treated. This example raises the question, since when are people with less money less deserving of health care or appropriate treatment?
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.
...ue to numerous medical errors. With the amount of medical errors that currently do occur which is a current health care issue it cost the health care billions of dollar each year to fix the mistakes that were made.
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.
Health care has always been an interesting topic all over the world. Voltaire once said, “The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” It may seem like health care that nothing gets accomplished in different health care systems, but ultimately many trying to cures diseases and improve health care systems.