Health Care Cost Of The United States

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 U.S. healthcare system is remarkably complex, and even healthcare workers struggle to understand it. The U.S. population gets health coverage by government programs, employers, and private insurance. Notably, because of the complexity and fragmentation of the health care system, there is a percentage of the population that remains uninsured. According to CNN Money, the uninsured rate in the U.S. dropped from 18.2% in 2010 to 10.3% in 2016, this drop was under Affordable Care Act(ACA) (). The goal of the ACA was not to give health coverage to all the uninsured population, rather it was to try to decrease the percentage of the population that remained uninsured(). There is a lot of inequality in the distribution of health among the U.S. population

Money plays a huge role in access, therefore it is a vital issue to discuss. Within the current system, lack of money results in lack of health care, which leaves thousands of people without any health care coverage. Between 2001 and 2005, the number of people paying for health insurance increased 30%, however income only raised 3% (Health Care Problems). Adequate income is a necessity and unfortunately that is not present. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the average annual premium across the country is $16,000. Currently, the average annual income in the United States is $51,107. Mint Money Management suggests that about 4-6% of one’s total income should be spent on insurance, including life, disability, and health insurance. However, the averages in the United States show that the average person spends about 31% of their income on health insurance, which is not financially beneficial. When this rise in health insurance is not parallel to the inflation of income, innocent people are left without a method to achieve health care. There is a program for those who can’t afford health insurance out of pocket nor have access to it, and that is called Medicaid. Issues still exist with the program. There is only so much funding, which leaves many still uninsured. Additionally, people with Medicaid have difficulty

Large populations of Americans are uninsured mainly because of the high cost of insurance. Majority of the uninsured are the low-income working families’. The adults represent a higher percentage of the uninsured than children. Before the law, you could be denied coverage or treatment because you had been sick in the past, be dropped mid-treatment for making a simple mistake on your application, hence, the Affordable Care Act was implemented into law on March 23, 2010 by President Barrack Obama to make sure that every American irrespective of their status will be insured and have full access to proper health care benefits, rights and protection(1). To understand the

Most people do not know how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will affect them because the main groups of people that are affected are the uninsured population and vulnerable population. The number of vulnerable populations is increasing and if the establishment of policies and programs fail to improve the health of this population, then it will be extremely difficult to contain the cost of care in the United States (Knickman & Kovner, 2015). The goals of the ACA are to significantly

The rising cost of health care has led companies to stop offering health insurance for employees, and private insurance is often too expensive for people to afford. Many families make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but are unable to pay for private health insurance. Health care costs in the United States have more than doubled in the last twenty years. Insurance premiums are rising five times faster than wages, and Americans are spending more money on health care than people in any other country. The average amount one person pays per year for health care in the United States is 134 times higher than the average of other industrialized countries (“Health Care Issues”). Even people who have insurance aren’t guaranteed coverage. Many insurance companies find loopholes to avoid paying for expensive medical treatment, leaving people with massive debt from medical bills. Medical bills and illness cause over half of all personal bankruptcies in the United

Social insurance costs are climbing, and will keep climbing, so Americans aren't getting much esteem for their hard earned cash. Absolute health mindfulness utilizing within the United States is depended upon to land at $4.8 trillion in 2021, up from $2.6 trillion in 2010 and $75 billion in 1970 (Aetna). That is especially so taking after no short of what 6 million Americans have lost their wellbeing insurance due to Obama's healthcare. Costs for health insurance rose at a 5.6% yearly rate in the last quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said a week ago (USATODAY). The ascent in cost created the legislature's purchaser using to go up hugely in general. In the occasion of health care climbing, it cause a significant issue for the most part families and the elderly. The expanding

Health care in the United States is driven by a patchwork of services and financing. Americans access health care services in a variety of ways — from private physicians’ offices, to public hospitals, to safety-net providers. This diverse network of health care providers is supported by an equally diverse set of funding streams. The United States spends almost twice as much on health care as any other country, topping $2 trillion each year. (WHO.INT 2000) However, even with overall spending amounting to more than $7,400 per person, millions of individuals cannot access the health care services they need.(Foundation 2009) So when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a the Affordable Care Act or ACA) was passed in the summer

The purpose of this Affordable Care Act is reduce the number of uninsured Americans in which the insurance covers approximately 94 percent of the American population, while reducing uninsured members by 31 million, thus increasing Medicaid enrollment by 15 million beneficiaries (Rosenbaum, 2011). The Affordable Care Act signifies an effort to reframe the monetary connection between Americans and the health-care system to stem the health insurance catastrophe that has covered individuals, families, communities, the health-care system, and the entire national economy as a

The cost of healthcare in America is out of control. As the medical costs continue to rise, many Americans, especially those considered low income, have decided to just live uninsured. Low income families are considered individuals, who make less than $15,521 a year and families of 4 members, who make $31,721 or less in a year (Leonard). As of 2013, 10.8 million were listened as low income households in America, which is a 18.6% rise from the previous survey (Leonard). Basically, these families cannot afford to pay for private medical insurance. As a matter of fact, there are 70 million people covered

In the attempt for America’s government to provide low-cost health care for the lower class, it has increased the insurance payments of the upper and middle class to provide the funds to make up for the losses. The intention of the government to be magnanimous to the public was a step in the right direction, however putting the stress on the other social classes, especially the middle class, was not the solution. Coming from a middle class family of four, my father explained to me firsthand the toll the new health care service plans the government passed was affecting the financial situation at home. Prior to the passage of Obama care (2010) my father, choosing from the options the company provided for health insurance, paid approximately $280 per month with low co –pays and deductibles. In the current year of 2016, the cost of the insurance for a family of four increased by almost 43% to a $400 a monthly payment with higher co-pays and larger deductibles. The evidence of the unintended negative side effects on the middle class American because of what the government passed to improve the state of the nation’s health care situation, only amplified the issues that already existed

The lack of access to healthcare is a problem that cannot be ignored. Millions of people in the United States are being affected by the inability to obtain health services. The most significant barriers that have been identified prohibiting individuals from obtaining access to healthcare are related to finance. One of the barriers is the inability to afford to pay for health insurance and therefore are left uninsured. The accessibility to health insurance has declined significantly and this can be attributed to the skyrocketing cost. Another aspect to consider adding to the immensity of the problem are the employer’s inability to offer health insurance due to the high cost. Employers are more than ever not offering employed based health coverage or are only offering part-time employment, which in turn allows them to not be required to offer health insurance. This is an issue as individuals are left without the coverage of an employer, cannot afford private insurance on their own, but yet do not fall into the criteria to qualify for Medicaid or Medicare services leaving them without access to proper healthcare ((Bodenheimer & Grumbach, 2012, pp.17-19). This inequality to access to healthcare is concerning as the individuals health is at stake. These are people who might be suffering from chronic illness that are going untreated and therefore will have detrimental effects due to not having the opportunity to get treatment. These individuals are left to choose between providing

Healthcare access in the United States for its citizens has been a controversial topic for several years and especially since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act. The availability of insurance coverage is severely limited to a minimal population of Americans and a significant amount of individuals remain disenfranchised in terms of health care. This position is unacceptable when the economic status of this country and the astronomical cost invested into healthcare is considered. Also, comparisons of the costs of healthcare in America versus other countries speaks volumes that Americans are not receiving their money’s worth in accessing optimal health care options and outcomes.

One of the greatest injustices facing our nation today is that a large percent of our population does not carry any type of health insurance, and the number is growing daily. Within the job market we are finding employers placing the cost of the health insurance back on the employees, which puts stress on the employees to pay high premiums, deductibles, and co-payments. A large percent of our American population can not afford insurance coverage at all.

Another issue that everyone is aware of is the rising cost of healthcare. Insurance prices are skyrocketing, and not just through employers. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created the market place, so those without health insurance could go and purchase it at a lower cost. Unfortunately, it seems that even those rates are either going up or they limited who a person can see. The big question to ask is, “Why is the cost going up?”