Essay On Uninsured Health

The United States of America, the self-proclaimed sole remaining superpower, often touts that it is the greatest nation in the world. Yet, when the data is analyzed, this claim is proven time and time again to be wrong, whether it is math or science, literacy or numbers, household income or workforce. Time and time again, and the numbers continue to slip. Healthcare is no exception. In 2012, the United States ranked thirty-second worldwide in life expectancy (Avendano and Kawachi 2014). Of the thirty-four Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations in 2010, the United States ranked twenty-sixth in infant mortality (MacDorman et al. 2010). In a 1998 study of thirteen developed nations (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States), the United States ranked, on average, twelfth. The rankings for the United States on each of the sixteen health indicators was: thirteenth for low-birth-weight percentages; thirteenth for neonatal mortality and infant mortality overall; eleventh for post neonatal mortality; thirteenth for years of potential life lost (excluding external causes); eleventh for life expectancy at one year for females and twelfth for males; tenth for life expectancy at fifteen years for females and twelfth for males; tenth for life expectancy at forty years for females and ninth for males; seventh for life expectancy at sixty-five years for

Countries that outperform the U.S. address these issues through universal health insurance, stronger primary care systems, payment approaches that minimize billing conflicts, and greater investment in social supports that lead to better health” (Squires,2017).

This brief essay studied the uninsured and the health care disparities they face. Essential Affordable Care Act provisions and their effects were studied. Critical factors affecting the health care of the uninsured were identified; these included race, ethnicity, income, socioeconomic status, culture, language and income. Several research studies concluded that while access to health care has improved, the quality of this care has not improved for the uninsured. Although the number of uninsured has been reduced dramatically since 2010, insurance costs continue to increase significantly. Failure of states to expand Medicaid benefits has limited uninsured patients’ health care options. Free health clinics often handle health care needs of

Each state has their own policies for Medicaid eligibility, services and payments. Medicaid plans have three eligibility groups such as categorically needy, medically needy and special groups. Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is a program that offers health insurance coverage for uninsured children under Medicaid. If Medicaid does not cover a service, the patient may be billed if the following conditions have been met such as the physician informed the patient before the service was performed that the procedure was not covered by Medicaid and if the patient has signed an Advance beneficiary Notice form. However, there are also conditions where the patient cannot be billed if necessary preauthorization was not obtained or service

Healthcare in the United States is an interstate system that accounts for 15% of the U.S. GDP and $5,635 per capita. Nearly 45 million – or 1 in 5 – Americans are uninsured. With insurance premiums rising yearly, the number of uninsured Americans projects to continue to climb. While new technologies will increase the efficiency of healthcare, the costs of these new tests and treatments will likely outweigh the savings. As the cost of healthcare rises, many employers will be forced to eliminate health insurance benefits for their employees, further increasing the number of uninsured Americans.

Contrary to what many people believe, America’s health status is not quite “up-to-par,” to say the least. Over forty-seven million people in the United States lack health insurance; that is more than 15% of our nation’s population! At first this disturbing truth seems impossible to believe, being as America is one of the most technologically advanced and economically developed countries in the world. “We spend trillions of dollars per year on medical care. That’s nearly half of all the health dollars spent in the world. But we’ve seen our statistics. We live shorter, often sicker lives than almost every other industrialized nation. “We rank 30th in [global] life expectancy” (Adelman 2008). Knowing this brings rise to the question: why are

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.

According to data presented by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the US health care cost exceeded $ 8,000 per capita, in 2010, comparing to the next most expensive system (Norway) $5,000 per capita (OECD Health Data, 2012). Despite being the most expensive system in the world, US healthcare system has failed in many areas of performance and quality. According to OECD data, US has a much lower life expectancy than other industrialized countries, also the infant mortality rate is higher than those countries. Moreover, the US is the only industrialized country that does not provide its citizens a protection of a universal health care coverage.

Actual medical care in the United States is better than many other countries, but there are those who think adoption of universal government-controlled healthcare is the way we are headed. In fact, the United States and Mexico are the only countries of the 34 members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that do not have universal health care. (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2013)

What does America have to show for all the money it is spending on health care? It wouldn’t be unreasonable to speculate that the U. S. would have the lowest infant mortality, the highest life expectancy, and the most efficient health care in the world. Unfortunately, however, that is not the case. The United States according to the same article, ranks 46th out of 48th in health care efficiency, Serbia and Brazil are the only two ranking lower. Infant mortality and life expectancy in the United States rank 167thand 44th out of 224 respectivelyaccording to the CIA World Factbook (2015). Additionally, approximately 15 percent of people in the U.S. are still uninsured. The return on investment in health care needs to have better results; a system that provides the highest quality care that leaves no one out.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), health care spending in the United States has grown at a rate of 3.7 percent since 2012 to $2.8 trillion, costing the U.S. 17.9 percent of total its GDP and ranking it number one spending on health care (Martin et al 67; world bank). Despite having the most expensive healthcare per capita, according to The Commonwealth Fund - a private American foundation dedicated to the promotion of a high performance healthcare system - the U.S. ranks at the bottom of the top ten wealthiest nations in terms of “access, efficiency, and equity” (Davis

America is without a question the leading country of medical and scientific advances. There always seem to be a new medical breakthrough every time you watch the news or read the paper, especially in the cure of certain diseases. However, the medical research requires an enormous amount of money. The U.S. spends the most money on health care yet many people, mainly the working class Americans are still without any type of health insurance and thus are more susceptible to health risks and problems. The concept of health insurance for Americans was formulated over a century ago. Most Americans obtain health insurance from

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

The U.S. Health system spends a higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country but ranks 37 out of 191 countries according to its performance.” (WHO, 2000, p. 1) Progression in the United States has not kept up with the advances in other wealthy nations dealing with the population health. Disease and chronic disability report almost 50% of America health problem (JAMA, 2013).