This week’s key takeaways were Chapter 8, Understanding Health Insurance, was a bit of a refresher for me as I have worked in the healthcare industry for over 8 years and have a great understanding of how health insurance terminology and how it works. What made chapter 8 interesting is the timeline of health insurance in the U.S. as well uncertainty and risk involved with health insurance as it is something most of us don’t consider with our health insurance. Chapter 9, Health Economics in a Health Policy Context and how supply and demand work with healthcare. When you hear supply, and demand you usually associate with products or goods but not generally with services.
I found the history of Blue Cross and Blue Shield in the U.S. very important
Long time ago, there was no need for health insurance in America, as doctors had many clients because their services were not so expensive and in some cases in rural areas, people could pay by giving other items. Doctors were not as knowledgeable as they are nowadays to care for the sick, therefore this didn't have much effect then on the patients, as they were treated for the basic illnesses.
Michael Fraser is the executive vice president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society. Fraser states that some of the plans offered through the Affordable Care Act have an annual deductible of $6,350. Patients must pay this deductible before insurance covers any portion of their medical fees. Once met, these plans only cover 60 percent of the medical costs, leaving the patient responsible for the remaining 40 percent.
Many people in the United States at some point in their life pay for health insurance or health care. Usually the people who pay for health insurance is either retired from work or are in their primes with children to care for. There are many other kinds of health care associations in the U.S., but there’s a major health insurance cooperation in today’s society that is causing problems in America’s economy and causing major drops in unemployment rates everywhere in the U.S., named after the 44th president of the United States of America, President Barack Obama, Obamacare is a type of health care system that is outrageously expensive and money consuming, putting Americans into serious debt. It had once been seen as a plan to help Americans
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) varies from state to state. [CHIP is a collaboration between federal and state governments. The programs are run by the individual states according to requirements set-up by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. States may organize CHIP programs as an independent program separate from Medicaid, such as separate child health programs, use CHIP funds to expand their Medicaid programs like SCHIP Medicaid expansion programs, or can combine these] put in quotes with the source advancements into a CHIP combination program (NAHSP,2017). States receive federal funds for CHIP programs at a rate above the typical Medicaid match. States with separate child health programs follow the
In 1915, reformers issued the first major proposal for national health insurance in the United States. In 1929, the first current group health insurance plan was formed. Since that time, Americans have relied on private insurance to help protect their families. Across the nation health insurance has provided a level of comfort when a medical situation arises. Policyholders know that there will be reliable services as well as assistance with the costs. Since the passing of The Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, there has been agitation in Washington, and it continues to be a topic for arguments among Americans. Even though healthcare has always been a priority, an important part of our lives, the ACA, and its provisions are detrimental. The
It is important to begin with the fact that the United States has no formal healthcare system. There are five subsystems: private employer provided insurance, Medicaid for low or no income individuals, Veteran’s hospitals serve military veterans, workers compensation serves individuals that have on-the-job injuries and services for active military and dependents. There is also the Medicare system that serves individuals over the age of 65 (Williams & Torrens, 2008). Even with all these subsystems, there are still many individuals without health insurance. It is also important to realize that having health insurance coverage and having access to healthcare are two entirely different issues. An individual can have insurance but still not have access to healthcare. Of course the goal in the United States is to provide adequate healthcare access to everyone (Beedasy, 2010). This is not always possible due to different demographics such as age, socioeconomic, and other issues. I have health insurance but with the deductible extremely high many times I cannot afford to go to the doctor. For individuals that are low income, this issue is a problem. There is a gap between income low enough to qualify
Health insurance has been a matter of concern for long in the U.S. Several laws have been formulated to ensure every individual get insurance cover. The latest law is the Affordable Care Act. Every insurance company has its own products offered. There are various types of insurance offered. The most common types of health insurance plans are health maintenance organization (HMO), Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO), Preferred Provider Organization and Point of Service (POS) Plans.
It is estimated the uninsured population will reach as high as twenty-three million people even after the implementation of the ACA. Undocumented migrants and exempted individuals fall under the uninsured population. The exempted individuals are those who will pay higher than “8% of their household incomes on health insurance”; therefore they are not required to adhere to the individual mandate of purchasing health insurance. As a result, other policy interventions are needed if the US seeks to promote universal health insurance coverage. Perhaps the US should consider other countries’ practices as they have tried to deal with undocumented migrants’ health coverage. For instance, in Spain, undocumented migrants can only seek medical treatment for emergency, maternity, and pediatric care. Proving limited care may be a good choice for the remaining uninsured. Also, since the US does have non-profit hospitals, perhaps the undocumented migrants should seek care at those designated hospitals only. In addition, those same options can cross over to the exempted uninsured individuals. However, I feel the exempted individuals would be best served in another way. Perhaps the income qualification guideline for Medicaid should be increased to
Access to health services is often related to having a health insurance. In most of cases both terms go hand in hand, however, this does not always happen in that way. Five years ago, my mother suffered a myocardial infarction. It was an unexpected situation for my family, especially for me. My mother was only 54 years, and the doctors did not ensure her survival. Several weeks after my mother miraculously recovered, the cardiologist who treated her recommended the realization of a catheterization to place a stent in the affected artery. My mother
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law on March 23, 2010, represent a landmark in the U.S. health policy.1 The ACA is the most comprehensive reform experienced by the U.S. health system. The individual insurance market has been transformed by this reform which mandates residents to have health insurance, expands public insurance and reduces the cost of private insurance plan and reduces and reorganizes spending under the nation’s largest health insurance plan, Medicare.2 Persistent challenges relating to access, affordability and quality of care in the U.S. health care system has been resolved by the ACA.3
united health care is health insurance for those who have low income, pregnant, children, elderly or a disability. united health insurance is the largest single health carrier in the united states. This type of health insurance has Medicare and Medicaid but the are tow different government run programs that were created in 1965 in response to the inablility of older and low-income americans to buy private health
In the modern United States, the starting point of any practical discussion about health insurance begins with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA has a significant amount of influence over employers and their individual employees, and therefore must be discussed before any recommendations may be made. There are three major aspects of the ACA that are relevant to our client and that ought to be discussed and considered. These aspects include the individual mandate, the employer mandate, and the exchanges.
Incompetent health insurance literacy is a current problem that affects the ability for patients to make informed health care decisions, ultimately contributing to the escalating costs of health care in the United States.
Health Choice Insurance Co. is a managed care organization which provides health plans beneficial for you, your family or your company. Although the company is based out of Arizona, it is affiliated to IASIS which has its presence in Utah, Texas, Nevada, Louisiana, Colorado, Florida, Arkansas and Arizona. Being a subsidiary of IASIS, Health Choice Insurance Co. provides Medicare as well as Medicaid services in Utah and Arizona area. Being relatively new in this industry, from 1998 Health Choice Insurance Co. have been successful in expanding their network to 19 acute care units and one behavioral hospital in 8 different states such as
Currently, the issue of health insurance has been a bone of contention for the public regarding whether the United States government should provide this health plan or not. People often possess different perspectives and refer to pros and cons on both sides of the spectrum. While some believes a universal healthcare system will set a foundation for a lower quality of service, increasing governmental finance deficit, and higher taxes, others do not hold the same thought. A universal healthcare system brings enormous advantages rather than disadvantages, such as all-inclusive population coverage, convenient accessibility, low time cost, and affordable medical cost, all of which not only provide minimum insurance to the disadvantaged but also improve the efficiency of medical resources distribution.