A Case Study On Uninsured

Financial burdens greatly limit the system’s accessibility; however, many in the U.S. are unable to fully utilize either option. Census estimates from 1999 indicate that 43 million Americans live without health insurance even though 75 percent of them have a full-time job or live in a household with at least one member working full-time (Mueller, , 5) In addition to the totally uninsured, census estimates also reveal that approximately 42 million other people in the U.S. are underinsured. This means that they have some insurance, but are still unable to afford all of their needed prescriptions, tests, visits to physicians, or hospital

In chapter 11 they discussed the uninsuranced, as the minority ethnic group 32% Hispanic and 16% black. They also mentioned that the rate of health insurance coverage is substantially lower among low-wage workers then higher-wage workers.

In addition to those who are unemployed, you also have the Americans that are employed and still uninsured. These Americans either choose not to have health insurance or they are still unable to afford it. I have been there, I had to choose more money on my paycheck over having health insurance. For most, being uninsured is not a choice, insurance is simply unaffordable. In an article on The Economic Impact Of The Uninsured it states that “eighty percent of uninsured people are employed, or live in a home where a family member is employed. Their plight has nothing to do with a slow economy” (Knowledge@Emory). More young Americans look at insurance as a luxury not a necessity. However, when the unknown happens then these young people are faced with an enormous

Who are these people without health insurance? “Everyone I know is insured”. Of the twelve people randomly quick-polled in a Hartwick College dormitory, only two answered that they knew someone who was uninsured. Granted, they are “rich” college students. Many of them have never been exposed to people who wouldn’t have the money to pay for insurance, right? Wrong. The National Rural Health Association reports that “nearly eight in ten uninsured Americans have family incomes above the poverty level” (NRHA 2).

As of 2008, there are approximately 73.9 million children living in the United States. Of these children more that 5.5 million have some form of mental or physical disability. In addition, 77 percent of uninsured children come from low-income families (CoverTheUninsured.org, 2008). However, Missouri’s population of uninsured children fares much better at almost half the national average or 7.2 percent (Missouri Foundation for Health, 2004). More than 8 million children in America are uninsured. That means 1 out of every 10 does not have any form of health coverage. Racial and ethnic disparities among those uninsured children are dramatic. Most recent data has found that one in 13 White children is uninsured compared to: one in five American Indian children, one in six Latino children, one in nine African American children, one in nine Asian/Pacific Islander children. (Children’s Defense Fund, 2010)

According to the UCLA 2011, Adult’s Health Profile, the percent total of uninsured citizens between ages of 18 to 64 inShasta County is 26.5%, which had uninsured rates above the statewide average of 26.4%. The total insured citizens in Shasta County estimated to be 75%, access healthcare coverage through Medicare, Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid for low-income people), employment-based insurance, or private health insurance. To be more specific, about 50.4% of total citizens are on employment-base insurance, 9.6% are under medi-Cal, and 13.6% are under other types of coverage. In 2014, U.S. citizens and legal residents will be required to have health care coverage. Therefore, those uninsured must have access to health care coverage in any way.

Vulnerable populations is a term that creates an image of distinct and narrow-minded minority though the vulnerability of every individual to illness, disease, and injury has made health insurance necessary and probable for a huge portion of the American population. Vulnerable populations in the United States includes parents and children of immigrants, race/ethnic minorities, the disabled poor, the elderly, foster children, families ineligible for welfare, prison inmates and former offenders, children with special care needs, and residents of rural areas. However, the uninsured population has developed to become one of the vulnerable populations in the United States because of the risks and dangers associated with the lack of health insurance. As a result of the increased of the number of the uninsured, they have a huge financial impact on the vulnerable population.

Per the Health Care Safety Net Increased Eligibility Amendment Act of 2005, its first manifest goal proposes that individuals 18 years of age or younger whose total gross income is more than 200% but less than 250% of the federal poverty guideline will be afforded reasonably priced healthcare and medical services. In addition, the act’s second goal proposes that the Mayor will create a thorough plan within 180 days of its enactment that outlines specific eligibility criterion for the aforementioned individuals whose gross income is more than 200% but less than 250% of the federal poverty guideline (Health Care Safety Net Increased Eligibility Amendment Act of, 2005). The individual’s total gross income will represent all money received, including but not limited to cash.

North Carolina has the highest index of the uninsured population approximately 1.6 million. Being uninsured has a profound impact on the health and well-being of the people. The ACA had a significant impact on the different population categories of North Carolina. According to The Affordable Care Act 2014, Medicaid will cover most low-income people if Federal Poverty Level (FPL) is no greater than 138 percent (Milsted, 2013). The people that have more impact are the children six to eighteen, working parents, nonworking parents, and childless adult. Prior to Affordable Care Act, Medicaid was limited to a specific group of low-income individuals, such as children less than six, pregnant women, elderly and disabled. Childless

As health care reform in the United States makes drastic changes in insurance policies under the Affordable Care Act, San Francisco developed Healthy San Francisco in 2007, a safety net program aimed to help transition the low income and uninsured Americans as they qualify for various health insurance programs (Katz & Brigham, 2011). Healthy San Francisco is a program only for the uninsured adult citizens within the county limits. Under the program, individuals and families can choose primary care homes and defined specialty care networks, with transparent pricing based on income level (Katz & Brigham, 2011). Children under the age of 18 do not qualify for Healthy San Francisco as they would otherwise qualify for another county run program for children who do not qualify for state or federal health insurance (Katz & Brigham, 2011). As part of the program, a health information program would analyze applicants

Middle-income earners, those who “had incomes ranging from about $42,000 to $125,000 in 2014” (Fry & Kochhar, 2016), are often hit the hardest by what one could deem a coverage gap. This gap exists because many middle-income households do not qualify for Medicaid or sufficient subsidies and cannot afford to purchase plans in the top two, Gold and Platinum, insurance tiers. They are instead

Given that were are studying about vulnerable population, I wondered what the numbers would look like if they were separated by race. I decided to further research which group of people lack health insurance coverage . According to the KFF, 8.1% of uninsured where whites, Hispanics made 17.2% and people

Elderly people struggle with the everyday cost of living. They have to think not only about the essentials of the their living expense’s but have to think about the cost of their health care. When a person applies for health care insurance they will find out what they will pay monthly, semiannually, and annually. There are five factors when considering what the monthly premium will be. The five factors are age, geographical, location, tobacco user, individual vs. family enrollment, and plan category. The one issue that arises to many people that gives them fear when they are applying for health care insurance is the age issue. According to the health insurance market place. (Healthcare.gov 2015) “Older people

Data was taken from the Central Texas Region and 3 tables were drawn breaking down the factors of health and income. The evidence suggest that for Central Texas residents surveyed making $35,000 or less had a higher percentage of being uninsured. This correlates with economic status and jobs such as blue collar workers as opposed to those white collar occupations, specifically those in the community averaging a yearly income of $15,000 - $35,000 had no health care coverage of approximately 30%. Upon further analyzing the second graph the number 1 reason the community suggested at 30% for not having health care coverage

Louisiana is a rural state that has a population of over 4.5 million people, which makes it the 25th most populous state (the Louisiana health...). This state is racially and ethnically diverse. According to an article by The Kaiser Family Foundation “The Louisiana Health Care Landscape” the population of Caucasians account for 58 percent of the entire state population, African Americans at 31 percent and Hispanics at 6 percent. There is also a dominance in certain age groups. Most of the population accounts for those who are between the ages of 19 and 65 at 62 percent of the population. The age group between ages 0-18 then counts for 26 percent, 65, and older at 12 percent of the state’s population.