Health Insurance Case

Healthcare inequality mainly revolves around the disparity in the quality of health and health services among different population groups in the society. It touches on the accessibility of health insurance and thus the accessibility of quality healthcare services among the different population groups. There disparities in the access to quality healthcare among the different races and ethnicities, social classes and between the two genders. These disparities are mainly influenced by and are reflective of the differences in access to health insurance among these population groups. These disparities ultimately lead to similar disparities in healthcare services access, health outcomes and the presence of disease among these different population groups. There are several factors that influence access to health insurance and quality health services, referred to as determinants of health among the populations. There are cultural, environmental social and economic determinants to health which create an unfair playing ground for the different population groups in American society. This paper examines the social determinants to health, the extent to which they affect access to health insurance and quality healthcare and ways in which they can be reversed to enable equal access to health insurance and health care services among these populations. The issue of disparities in access to health insurance and by extension access to quality healthcare services is important because it affects

Rising health insurance premiums have made healthcare unaffordable in the United States. Health insurance premiums in this country have undergone a steady rise over the past few years while incomes have remained the same. More than 50% of individuals with low incomes holding private insurance in the United States are unable to afford their healthcare costs (Collins, Gunja, Doty & Buetel, 2015). In addition, costs related to healthcare are equally unaffordable to 25% of working-age individuals who hold private health insurance policies (Collins et al., 2015). According to the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Educational Trust (Kaiser/HRET) survey on employer health benefits, employer-sponsored health insurance plans have also had moderate rises in premiums in 2013 for both individuals and family coverage (Claxton et al., 2013). While

In today’s society, there is still a great struggle with health care disparities and many lives are affected by the lack of this fundamental program in our society. There are millions of people who die each year because they are unable to afford quality healthcare. The debate still continues about healthcare inequalities, what causes this disparity and who are affected by it. Health care is more of a necessity rather than a luxury and even though skeptics may argue to the latter, it only underlines the importance of the need for the wellbeing and care of individuals. There are several factors that could contribute to the lack of health care in the United States which ranges from but not limited to race, gender, socio- economic status, and lack of insurance coverage. The truth is there is a great disproportion between who can really afford quality healthcare as appose to individuals who have it. One would imagine that an employed individual would easily afford quality healthcare but we could be no further from the truth, since one’s economic status is an essential determinant to its affordability.

This report is gives a look at numerous factors affecting healthcare and how a lack of insurance has implications to not just the individual, but society as

In America, we not only have the problem of the non-insured but the under insured which causes just about as much problem as the underinsured. Each group has contributed to the vast growing cost of healthcare. Over the last decade or two, the amount of uninsured has risen due to the job market in the economy and the fact that most insurances are tied to employment, which is also a problem as the unemployment rate rises. The purpose of this paper is to explore this issue.

One of the major social problems in the United States is the increasing number of uninsured people who are among the vulnerable populations in the America. In 2008, there were approximately 46 million of non-elderly Americans without health insurance including adults and children. While this population includes people from all age ranges, young adults account for a significant portion of these people since they are likely to be uninsured. Moreover, many uninsured individuals are in families with at least a single full-time worker as Hispanics excessively have the highest rates of the uninsured. However, the huge share of this population is white Americans as compared to people from other races.

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

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.

Prior to The ACA, the United States was primarily composed of a private health care system. This meant that employers, families or individuals would buy health insurance through private insurance companies. There were also Medicare and Medicaid government insurance programs for qualifying individuals. (Bradey, 2016) Typically the Medicare program is reserved for those individuals who have reached retirement age and Medicaid is for the poor. There are exceptions to each of the programs that this paper will not explore.

Some negative aspects of the 1965 Social Security Amendments (Medicare/Medicare) are many low-income individuals are not receiving Medicaid benefits to ease the gap between receiving Medicare (Rowland, Summer, 2015). With about 20 million individuals who receive Medicare with income below 200% FLP, between 11 million and 13 million are not receiving any benefits from Medicare premiums or the sharing of the cost between Medicare and Medicaid saving programs (Rowland, Summer, 2015). Also, individuals above the 135 FLP do not qualify for Medicare assistance unless their medical expenses are large or they meet the qualifications in other ways for Medicaid (Rowland, Summer, 2015). However, in many cases, not all individuals below the poverty

From the Table 4, it is noted that the children under 15 and the people who have completed their Bachelor’s degree or higher holds the highest percentage of 94.7 among the people who are insured. The people who have some college or less than a 4-year degree are the second highest among the insured people with 91.2 percentage. On the other side, the people who don’t have a high school diploma are noted for holding the highest percentage of 14.6 among the uninsured people and the people have completed a high school or equivalent are the second highest among the uninsured people with 12.1 percentage.

Yet of perhaps greatest importance to the American healthcare system and industry is the demographical information of this older population in terms of its particular characteristics and disposition. More specifically, healthcare professionals and policy analysts must understand the aging populations’ economic and living situations, and their overall health status (Jacobsen, Kent, Lee & Mather, 2011). Economic factors are key as they directly pertain to the likelihood of reliance on publically-funded healthcare programs, while “the marital status and living arrangements of the elderly are closely tied to levels of social support, economic well-being, and the availability of caregivers” (Jacobsen et al., 2011, p. 4). The importance of this population’s general health status is, of course, self-explanatory.

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

The growing concern regarding the financial security of Medicare is one of particular interest to the nearly 72 million baby boomers that become eligible for this government-assisted, and tax-payer bolstered, program over the next two decades. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2010), there will be a rapid increase in baby-boomers between 2010 and 2030, as the entire baby boomer population move into the 65 years and over category (p.3). Political and financial revisions must be made to ensure the security of Medicare as the numbers of individuals paying into this program are soon to be surpassed by the number of individuals drawing-off this program (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). The elderly are also at a disadvantage with transportation to health care visits, picking up prescriptions, and rehabilitation services. There needs to be an establishment of access not only to primary care providers, hospitals, and rehabilitation services, but access to other aspects of the health care system for the elderly population.

The middle left community shows single adults as a profile significantly linked to ‘no any health insurance’. The bottom left community signals the coexistence of direct purchase of insurance with public insurance through Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare and no insurance through employer, as well as it shows the overlap between Tricare and