We live in the United States, “The Land of the Brave and Home of the Free.” However, the United States is the only developed country that does not provide guaranteed insurance coverage for all citizens and they’re thereby doing not ensure access to health services (Government hub, n.d.). Meaning other countries offer health coverage without cost. This always disappointed me because America is the richest, and most unequal, country (Sherman, 2015). So why wouldn’t America provide American’s health care insurance (McAlearney, 2003, p. 20). Since the United States does not provide universal health care coverage, we will discuss briefly forms of insurance offered to Americans, the categories of insurance and how individuals qualify for coverage and Affordable Healthcare Act (Obama Care). Insurance is separated into categories called Major Medical Plans, Qualified Health Plans, and Catastrophic Plans. Major medical plans consist of Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans: HMOs are one of the most popular types of health insurance you can purchase. With this plan, an entire network of health care providers agrees to offer you its services. You have to select a primary care provider (PCP) who coordinates all of your health services and care (Ehealth, 2014), Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans: Under a PPO plan, both you and your family can see any health care provider in their network, including specialists, without a referral. In most cases, you don’t have to
“When we debate health care policy, we seem to jump right to the issue of who should pay the bills, blowing past what should be the first question: Why exactly are the bills so high? (Sultz & Young 336)”. It’s no surprise for many Americas today to realize that the cost of healthcare and the cost of having insurance is on the rise. Many people wonder why something stressed as important for every individual to have access to, is so expensive and inaccessible for many. So, why is that something that should be accessible for anyone, is lacking this quality? Many people today lack health insurance coverage, because of the high cost for private insurance or because of the loss of employer-based health coverage. Many Americans during the last decade, especially during the years of economic recession and contraction no longer have access to job-based health care insurance coverage (Sultz & Young 290). As a reaction to the many uninsured individuals and to attempt to control short and long term costs, the government had implemented the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a topic of dispute since its introduction and continues to be discussed by politicians in the U.S. and throughout the world even after its passage. The Act has many opponents and is the cause of much controversy nationwide, primarily because it introduces higher healthcare costs for the richest citizens. Nevertheless, the ACA is an important stage in the American healthcare development process as it not only allows more people to receive healthcare services, but will also reduce the deficit. However, not everyone agrees. The policy is controversial in terms of cost vs. benefits, but the benefits ultimately outweigh the costs.
One reason that is frequently cited when asking the question of why so many people in the U.S. don’t have coverage is the cost. Many populations, in particular minorities, low-income, and women cannot afford health insurance or are underinsured thus putting them at a higher risk for disease, disability and death. In the U.S in 2010, there were 50 million people uninsured (Patel & Rushefsky, 2014). Private insurance companies have denied coverage to people with preexisting conditions (as seen in the Sick Around America video) and even pregnant women, this practice illustrates the inequality and inequity issues that have permeated the health care system. The Affordable Care Act sought to remedy the issues related to health insurance coverage being accessible for all Americans but there still exists many people without
One of this health care’s programs objective is to limit the number of uninsured (Shi & Singh, 2015). This controversial healthcare plan incorporates a privately funded insurance which is paid for through employment and solely by the patient and a publicly funded insurance by the government. Medicare is provided for senior citizens 65 and older, and Medicaid is provided for low income citizens. The federal government and state government both partake in the funding of Medicaid. Although insurance is provided to the low income through Medicaid, the United States continues to suffer from cost escalation spending 17.1 percent of GDP on healthcare in 2013, a 50 percent more than the second nation (Commonwealth, n.d.) The high cost and limited coverage continues to spark up the conversation for a
Health care reform and access to insurance have been staples of the American political agenda ever since the end of World War II. From President Truman’s call for universal coverage in the late 1940’s to the creation of Medicaid and Medicare to the Affordable Care Act, both parties have debated how to lower the rate of uninsured Americans. After nearly 70 years of debate in Washington and beyond, the number of Americans with health insurance has certainly grown (Miller, 2014). However, the number of people in the United States without coverage is still unacceptably high and a problem that should be addressed with a great deal of urgency and care.
In 2010, President Obama passed the Affordable Healthcare Act, also known as Obama-care. Obama care it self is over twenty thousand pages long, and it may add six point two trillion dollars to the nation’s deficits. This act was made to allow everyone the opportunity to have health insurance, specially people who can not afford insurance on their own. However, instead of helping people afford health insurance, it forces people to buy insurance that might not be affordable for them based on their income. It also makes employers pay for their employee’s health care. That expense is covered by raising the prices of goods and services.
Many people in the United States at some point in their life pay for health insurance or health care. Usually the people who pay for health insurance is either retired from work or are in their primes with children to care for. There are many other kinds of health care associations in the U.S., but there’s a major health insurance cooperation in today’s society that is causing problems in America’s economy and causing major drops in unemployment rates everywhere in the U.S., named after the 44th president of the United States of America, President Barack Obama, Obamacare is a type of health care system that is outrageously expensive and money consuming, putting Americans into serious debt. It had once been seen as a plan to help Americans
Under a free-market system, health care is characterized in three ways – cost, access, and quality. In the United States, a mixed economic system that favors a free market system, health care is characterized as high cost, low access, and high quality. As such, these dichotomies pose an imperfect, inefficient scenario – the high cost and low access of health care lead people to not purchase insurance, while the high quality of health care drives people to still receive health care services. As a result, millions of Americans are currently uninsured, yet still utilizing various health care services, and are unable to pay their medical bills. This poses yet another conundrum - how can uninsured individuals receive medical care without paying for it? More importantly, who ends up paying for these services? Having recognized this gap between receiving medical care and paying for medical care,
The United States health care system has its own unique way of delivery, unlike many other developed countries where health care is a right for all and almost all the citizens have access to basic health care services. In the United States, health care is market based. If you cannot afford it, then you shouldn’t expect to receive coverage. This causes a human right crisis and deprives millions of Americans from receiving the care they need. The privatization of the U.S. health care system results in a substantial number of Americans who are without health insurance. The health care system is constantly undergoing changes, in response to fears of access, quality and cost. Despite all of these changes, there are still significant disparities
The revised affordable care act was intended to solve the everlasting issue of how health insurance would be delivered and how it would be paid for. The ACA requires everyone to have insurance. Public insurance was expanded and private insurance rates were subsidized. There are raises in revenue because of the new taxes surrounding the ACA, and a cut in spending under the nation 's largest insurance plan, which is Medicare. Projecting the impacts of fundamental reform to the health care system is filled with complicatedness. This brief describes these reforms and, where possible, documents their initial impact at the ACA’s five-year mark. Our report discusses the key results from that prior reform and what they might imply for the impacts of the ACA.
In the United States, the health market system is defective to the citizen. Even though the market is available to all citizens; There are at least half of a million Americans without health insurance plans. The costs of health in the United States have historically been unfavorable. This can be traced to the fact that the health sector is driven by a market-based system (Fernandez, 2010; Harris, 2011). This means that most of the health insurance companies are privately owned. The companies provide including basic medical expense plans and catastrophic hospital expense plans to accommodate the needs of consumers. It also offers supplemental products that provide protection against risks, including dental, vision, disability, critical
The expanded health insurance coverage via the Affordable Care act is having a major effect on managed care hospitals in many avenues. These effects are impacted via the increase in demand for care, the increase of patient revenues, as well as a lower uncompensated care especially for the uninsured. Not surprisingly, the constraints as well as the controls that are being imposed by the managed care have lead to an outrage by the doctors and their patients. Managed care in the United States finds itself under attack from every side. As far as the managed care organizations are concerned, administrators are unease regarding the profitability or the surplus for reinvestment and even the consumers are also worried about the possible closure of hospitals (Goodson, 2010). Managed Care Organizations have been forced to reduce hospital utilization even though there have also been a few facility closures.
A preferred provider organization (PPO) plan gives patients the flexibility to see providers and specialists within or outside the network of care; it will typically cost less to receive care from an in-network provider (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, n.d.). In most cases, referrals for specialists and designating one physician as a primary care provider is not required of a PPO plan. (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, n.d.). Alternatively, a health maintenance organization (HMO) limits patients to receive care from doctors, specialists, and hospitals covered under the health plan (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, n.d.). With the exception of emergency can and out-of-area urgent care, all care providers
People monthly premium can be a lot lower based on people income. No matter which health insurance plan people choose. They can save a lot money on their monthly insurance based on their income. The difference between HMO Health Maintenance Organization and PPO Preferred Provider Organization. These two health plans help people compare plans to get the right coverage for them and their family. A HMO health plan is a type of plan where people can pick one primary care Physician acts as the gateway between you, family, and your care. It also plans often offer the best pricing and least flexibility. They have lower prices by limiting your care to the doctors, clinics and hospital within the HMO a network. It require to choose primary care physician
According to the NILC (National Immigration Law Center), In America “Uninsured adults are more than 25 percent more likely to die prematurely than adults with health insurance.” (“The Consequences of Being Uninsured” 2). As a result of these adults not have access to health insurance, they also didn’t have access to good quality health services or any health services at all. Health services that are both good quality and accessible is very important to people’s health. Unfortunately in America this kind of service is hard to obtain. A lack of access to good quality health services can ruin the health condition of everybody, but spreading awareness of the effects of lack of good quality health services, and support from organizations can help bring accessible good quality health services to America.