Having health insurance has been one of the hottest topics in our country for many years. Republicans and an abounding number of U.S. Citizens have fought the Affordable Care Act for it not being as affordable as the President made it out to be. Has it ever dawned as to why more and more individuals avoid a doctor’s visit just for the fear of having that immense bill at the end of the month? Health insurance is a very important commodity to have, but in reality, very difficult to sustain, especially if you are only able to sign up annually. Not only is it an annual sign up, the premiums and co-pays are dreadfully expensive making it even harder to consider. Even then, health insurance companies facilitate reluctantly when guaranteeing their …show more content…
Every year, hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved if more Americans were covered under the preventative heath care services. This includes cancer screenings, tobacco screenings, and vaccinations (Fox & Shaw e7). Luckily, after September 2010, the Affordable Care Act made it a requirement for more insurance companies to provide coverage for certain clinical preventative services. This allows individuals to pay a visit to a doctor without worrying about having to pay out of pocket. This also allows a doctor’s office to not charge a deductible or co-pay (Fox & Shaw e7). Of course, there are those few plans that come with flexibility on how to manage with the Affordable Care Act’s requirements. In example, when receiving a colonoscopy and removing the findings such as polyps, a colonoscopy would still be covered without the co-pay or a deductible (Fox & Shaw e9). Then there are other insurance companies that will require you to pay the deductible or co-pay before receiving the colonoscopy. Which then brings us back to the unaffordability. As for some individuals, this may cost them a fortune and they will eventually just decline the treatment just to avoid the payment. For others, they will move forward with the colonoscopy, but they will become skeptical about a follow-up visit due to the cost (Fox & Shaw e9). This then makes it …show more content…
The first stipulation is to cover all individuals who apply for health insurance no matter what their health status is. The insurers are also required to increase their premiums regardless of the status of the individuals’ health (Taylor 25). But of course, there are those insurances that will refuse to give treatment to those who suffer from a pre-existing condition. The second stipulation requires states to extend the Medicaid program to all citizens whose income is considered poverty level. This causes a dilemma in most states being that there are many different ranks of poverty level. What may seem poor in Texas may not be the same kind of poor in New York. Lastly, the third major stipulation is for every individual who is able to afford insurance, to purchase it (Taylor 25). Here is where many argue the necessity of having health insurance that they are not adequately able 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.
The Affordable Care Act introduced a plan that would allow Americans with pre-existing conditions to obtain health insurance without the hassle of being turned down or fear of being charged higher premiums. The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan was effective as of July 1, 2010. It allowed patient access to affordable healthcare in which they were previously denied due to their pre-existing condition (Affordable Care Act Summary, n.d.). Patients were required to be uninsured for at least six months before they obtained this form of health insurance. In January 2014, the PCIP plans no longer exist due to funding issues so Amer...
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.
The United States health care system ranks 37th in the world. Statistically, it’s bizarre how United States is amongst one of the most advanced nations in the world and the fact that it spends more on its healthcare than any other country, yet its standards are incomparable to other European nations. Unlike most countries, America doesn’t have universal coverage for health care. This means that it is the responsibility of an average American to obtain health insurance either through private insurance companies or through their employer. Under this system, there is a notion of a certain premium due at regular intervals of time but the insured may need to “co-pay” or pay a certain deductible for their treatment before their insurance takes care of the rest.
The United States (U.S.) has a health care system that is much different than any other health care system in the world (Nies & McEwen, 2015). It is frequently recognized as one with most recent technological inventions, but at the same time is often criticized for being overly expensive (Nies & McEwen, 2015). In 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) (U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.) This plan was implemented in an attempt to make preventative care more affordable and accessible for all uninsured Americans (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.). Under the law, the new Patient’s Bill of Rights gives consumers the power to be in charge of their health care choices. (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.).
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.
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).
Health insurance companies are experts in setting traps for consumers to entice them into handing over a vast amount of money and not receive a single valuable service. After all there isn’t an entity available to regulate them.
does not spend adequate money on preventative healthcare, especially considering that millions of Americans are diagnosed with diseases that can be cheap to prevent, but expensive to treat. Approximately half of adult Americans suffer from chronic diseases that require long-term treatment; some of the most common include heart disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes. Certainly, these ailments are not always completely preventable, but in most cases, taking care of one’s health can prevent the acquiring of heart disease and obesity. With the U.S. now using both public and private based health insurance, this does not hinder private companies from implementing supply and demand. Another driving force of the high healthcare costs in the U.S. is the prescription drug market. The United States is one of only two countries in the world that allows millions of dollars each year to contribute to the advertising of prescription drugs. Of course, the cost of advertising causes the price of certain drugs to rise, Americans could benefit from laws prohibiting this type of health-related spending, and they could also benefit from government regulated healthcare
People will at least once, probably more, have to deal with insurance companies. For many, this typically results in a long, and heated struggle of figuring out what is covered, and what is not. It is also usually accompanied by negotiating something to be covered, and giving justification of why it should. Almost anyone will agree that handling insurance companies is as bad as pulling teeth. This is said to be true even when the medical diagnoses are concrete in the social construct of society. Many insurances will not cover things as dyer as cancer. If this is so commonly believed, imagine how it is for the illness that are not concrete; illnesses such as bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and schizophrenia. All phrases that are commonly heard in media, but widely accepted as untrue illnesses, or educated
The main advantage of the Affordable Care Act is that it lowers health care costs overall by making insurance affordable for more people. First, it wi...
Although health insurance can be beneficial because providers get paid for the services they provide to the patient the insurance premiums and deductibles are in many instances way more than many families across the United States can afford. With these extremely high costs for insurance statics show that over 40 million families’ can’t afford or have access to needed health care systems. “It shows that one-fifth of Americans couldn 't afford one or more of these services: medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, dental care, or eyeglasses (R...
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.
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.