The Uninsured Essay

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

Who are these people without health insurance? “Everyone I know is insured”. Of the twelve people randomly quick-polled in a Hartwick College dormitory, only two answered that they knew someone who was uninsured. Granted, they are “rich” college students. Many of them have never been exposed to people who wouldn’t have the money to pay for insurance, right? Wrong. The National Rural Health Association reports that “nearly eight in ten uninsured Americans have family incomes above the poverty level” (NRHA 2).

The cost of health insurance has changed drastically over the years as it has become more expensive. Depending on personal characteristic, the cost of health insurance may vary. For instance, as individuals grow older the more expensive it becomes. In this case, health insurance is more costly because “older individuals require more health care” therefore “the cost of providing health care is rising” (Madura &Atlantic, 2012). Not only does this affect the high cost of health insurance, but the number of individuals uninsured. As stated by Madura and Atlantic (2012), “about one in every five workers is uninsured” and has increased since then because health insurance has become unaffordable. As a result, individuals tend to seek health care elsewhere as they can no longer

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.

Health insurance is provided by Medicaid and Medicare to elderly and disabled people and poor children. People working for large companies receive health insurance through their employer. Unfortunately, people working for small businesses, those self-employed, and the working poor are left without options to purchase health insurance at an affordable cost. This creates a divide between the haves and have-nots in terms of health care. Those who have health insurance will access the care they need, but those who do not have insurance will go without. This may include primary care interventions such as immunizations and regular health screenings. Rising health care costs have a direct effect on the number of uninsured individuals and, therefore, a direct effect the number of individuals that can access care.

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

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?

     Most of the people who are uninsured are the working poor, which the overall costs of medical care can hurt them. By the means of doing their best, these people just can’t afford the insurance. Health care has become increasingly unaffordable for businesses and individuals. (Reese) Premiums grow several

1. Over 41 million Americans have no health care insurance according to the U.S. Bureau of Census.

Someone without health coverage are less likely to receive preventative care and therefore more likely to become ill which increases medical costs, [1].

I. More than 43 million Americans reported being uninsured throughout 2002 and millions more lack coverage for shorter periods. The lack of insurance negatively affects not only the uninsured, but their families, the communities in which they live, and the country as a whole (The Institute of Medicine).

Even though 45 million Americans are uninsured, the U.S. spends more on health care than any other industrialized nation, and those countries provide health care to all of their citizens. (National Coalition on Healthcare, 2005, Facts on health care costs).

The healthcare system says that if one pays their insurance then they should get coverage. What the healthcare system forgets to tell people is that there are premiums to pay, even when one does not need healthcare at that moment. A premium is how much someone pays a month for their healthcare coverage. Since 2005 premiums has risen to the point that it takes almost takes all of an employer’s check (Clemmitt, Universal Coverage 2). If someone is unemployed or in school they just drop healthcare all together, because it’s

According to the US Census Bureau, around 33 million people in the United States of America did not have health insurance in 2014. That is about 10.4 percent of the US population. I was fortunate enough to have insurance growing up. I remember when my father lost his job when I was quite young, my mother was very worried because he had no health insurance. He was not worried about it as much as she was, but unfortunately, he fell off his bike and fractured his knee and forearm. He was so stressed out about how he was going to pay for it because unemployment was definitely not going to help. He had to take out a loan and luckily got a job soon after so he could pay it off quickly. Many people are not able to pay off loans for medical services so quickly. We live in the richest nation on earth and we should not go without health care. It could stop medical bankruptcies, improve public health, reduce overall healthcare spending, and help small businesses. Health care should be a necessary government service. According to a 2009 study from Harvard