Essay On Uninsured Americans

The US has recently adopted a healthcare policy aimed to get more Americans insured. This policy is named the Affordable Care Act in 2010. “In 2013 there were 42 million uninsured individuals in the United States. “(The Common, pg. 153) There has since been increase in individuals who are covered either by private insurance or by Medicaid/Medicare which had a coverage increase with the new policy. It is believed that millions of people will now have health insurance compared to previous years.

The number of Americans without health insurance is still high enough that the negative consequences outlined above pose a significant threat to many people. As of January 2015, the percentage of uninsured Americans stood at 12.9% of the total population (Levy, 2015). Although this may seem like a low number, this statistic indicates that there are tens of millions of people in the U.S. who are susceptible to the risks of dying at the hands of something that could have been prevented with coverage. Thus, the uninsured rate is still high enough to warrant concern from policy makers and should serve as a call to action to work towards getting as many Americans as possible covered.

It is not just the poverty-stricken population that can’t afford insurance. The cost of U.S. health care and insurance is out of reach even for those who do not live in what we technically classify as “poverty”. By the 2003 Federal Poverty Guidelines, released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human services, poverty

In the United States of America, access to health care is a disadvantage for approximately 48 million Americans of those who do not have health insurance and millions underinsured (Parker & Thorson, 2009). Health disparities continue to deprive the nation of the need for adequate health care services and preventative care leaving a country mentally and physically disabled. There are two million Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHOH) people living in the America, which is the third concentrated population in the United States (U.S.) (Pick, 2013; Barnett & Franks, 2002). As of today, there is no knowledge of health care insurance coverage published to determine the number of DHOH without or underinsured. Unfortunately, lack of data to support the number of DHOH without health insurance or underinsured remains a puzzling mystery

Over the recent year the number of uninsured Americans has been slowly decreasing. Even to this day thousands and millions of Americans are still uninsured. At that, most Americans think that their health insurance coverage and the easy accessibility to health care is what should the US government should prioritize right now. The Federal government should take direct responsibility to ensure medical care for the people who is in lack of health insurance. Uninsured people has been always a problem in the U.S.

Health care expenditures in the United States are currently about 18 percent of GDP, and this share is expected to continue to rise with the share of GDP devoted to health care in the United States projected to reach 34 percent by 2040 (CEA, 2009). U.S. spending on healthcare is greater than any other developed country, yet unlike others which provide near universal coverage, the United States still has 46 million uninsured (Godell, 2008). For

Nearly 48 million Americans had no health care coverage in 2005, and the number will

Creating a national insurance marketplace that allows insurers to sell health plans across state lines.

Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or ‘Obamacare’ in 2010 and its implementation in 2014,there has been a steady decline in the uninsured population of the United States of America. The number of Americans with health insurance, has reached a historic peak. According to recent data from the Census Bureau about health insurance coverage, the number of uninsured Americans fell from 33 million the year prior to ACA implementation to 29 million in 2014.The total uninsured rate dropped by more than 4 percent since the health care law took effect. The ACA has significantly reduced the number of Americans who were not able to acquire health insurance due to poverty, unemployment, or having a pre-existing condition.

Even with employer-sponsored programs and federal programs for those who qualify, many Americans are uninsured. Over 46 million Americans had no health insurance in 2006, and 86.7 million went without health insurance at some point in 2007 and 2008 (“Health Care Issues”). Why has the number of uninsured risen so drastically and why are employer-sponsored programs dwindling?

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

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly called Obama care, is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Together with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, it represents the most significant government expansion and regulatory overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. Guaranteed issue will require policies to be issued regardless of any medical condition, and partial community rating will require insurers to offer the same premium to all applicants of the same age and geographical location without regard to gender or most pre-existing conditions. It requires that all individuals not covered by an employer sponsored health plan, Medicaid, Medicare or other public insurance programs, secure an approved private-insurance policy or pay a penalty. According to this system, a child would stay under their parents insurance until they turn twenty-six. The non-participating employers/ citizens, health

In America, the number of uninsured rises every year and no solution to the problem has

Layoffs have been steadily increasing people who are uninsured. In 2001, two million lost the coverage of their employer-sponsored programs with up to another 2 million on the verge of losing their coverage on account that they can not afford the rising premiums and co-pays. The number of uninsured population is expected to grow up to 10% by 2007 reaching 51.2 million by 2006 after having decreased 38 million in 1999. The trend of the uninsured overcrowding the emergency room however will still continue. 2

If 5:1 schemes drive higher premiums for the elderly, and premium reductions to younger populations accrue to them, the premium increases in older population must be financed by external resources. There are studies that estimate that this would force the government to increase subsidies by more than $8 billion and yet a significant amount of people in older bands would go uninsured.