The Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance

A key factor affecting access to care is economic inequality. Many racial/ethnic groups are considered to be of low socioeconomic status in the United States. When one has to worry about food and housing, health is not considered a priority. Lack of health insurance is a huge problem that many people face. The inequalities in income means less money can be put towards doctor’s visits and medications. Research done by Shi, LeBrun, Zhu, and Tsai (2011) shows

The ever rising cost of healthcare has made access to healthcare almost impossible to many households in the United States. That these households have stagnant incomes has further complicated issues (Collins, 2008). Many working families without insurance cover have been forced to pay for their own medical expenses that consume lion share of their incomes. Individuals have been forced to forfeit healthcare because of its inherent costs. The lower-income and middle-income families are a very vulnerable lot because they are either uninsured or underinsured (Collins, 2008).

The United States’ Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as “Obamacare,” has allowed millions of Americans access to health insurance, that were once unable. The Affordable Care Act has helped those who were unable to obtain health insurance due to pre-existing conditions, and those unable to afford the high costs of premiums and out of pocket expenses. While it has allowed millions to obtain health coverage, the ACA has its flaws. These flaws could be greatly improved by implementing ideas and strengths from universal healthcare plans from other countries around the world. I have chosen three countries who rank higher than the U.S. when it comes to their Health Care Systems- Germany, Norway, and Japan.

The population has been steadily increasing in the United States since its founding. For a long period the US led the industrialized world in its fertility rate however, though this rate has slowed in recent generations with Americans having few babies per household, immigration into the US has become one of the main drivers of the expanding population (Wang, 2013). Furthermore, the population is also steadily aging and therefore often requires more in terms of health care services. All of these factors contribute to a trend in which health care accessibility is becoming more and more limited in all types of coverage's. For example, those who have private health insurance may be faced with higher out-of-pocket costs and limited services to attempt to control costs while those without private insurance could be potentially excluded from service all together. One study found that in 2007 nearly two-thirds of all bankruptcies were related to medical expenses; a trend that has been rapidly increasing since the turn of the century (McCarthy, 2009). It is reasonable to believe that such trends correlate to a negative perception of the health insurance system.

The Government is a very important body as a stake in the health-care sector. Policies, Acts, and reforms are enacted and passed by the Government for adequate and better healthcare to meet the needs of its people. Insurance policies are one of the many ways that most States use to provide affordable and quality health care to every citizen. Although some of the laws may not have had a great impact towards the health-care, many have improved the services offered to the health-care consumer (Schmeer, 2016). Moreover, the government is also responsible for developing up policies which help in regulating the health

The cost of care has been a growing problem throughout developed nations during the last 15 years. For example, across 34 nations that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the average per capita health care expenditure increased by more than 70 percent between 2000 and 2010. However, the biggest spenders — such as

This study investigates the impact of income on the types of healthcare options available to individuals. Income inequality is growing with the exodus of manufacturing jobs from the country and an increase in low-paying jobs, part-time jobs and contract positions that usually lack health benefits (Shi, Starfield, Kennedy and Kawachi, 1999). In the absence of social policy that addresses income inequality, the promotion of primary care may serve as a palliative strategy for reducing the adverse effect of social inequality (Shi, Starfield, Kennedy and Kawachi, 1999). Even among higher-income adults, lack of health care insurance was associated with significantly decreased use of recommended health care services; increased income did not

Our family insurance coverage is a PPO insurance product. The insurance is offered through our employer. However, things have changed drastically. In years past healthcare coverage through your employer was 100% coverage with minimal employee contribution. Today the employee contribution is close to half the premium cost. This contribution is usually done bi-weekly with payroll deductions. With our coverage we have co-payments for prescription costs, dental, and vision care. If the prescription is not written as dispensed, (DAW) then we can use a generic equivalent at a cheaper co-pay cost. Other out-of-pocket costs are the deductible guidelines you must meet before your insurance is activated to the 100%

In 1975 an estimated 84.6% of the rural Chinese population was covered by the system but by 1985, only 39.9% was covered (14). The decline of the CMS resulted in several consequences for both health care providers and patients in rural China (10). For example, many barefoot doctors had difficulty to upgrading their skills since their training was previously financed by the CMS, which can affect the quality care that patients received. Additionally, without the CMS, the medical expenses became the responsibility of the patients and the high cost of hospitalization and treatment

A study by Victor G. Rodwin, the Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Wagner School of Public Service, New York University, and Co-Director of the World Cities Project, and determined the French system delivers a higher combined level of services and care quality with lower rates of expenditure than the United States. “There is a wide access to comprehensive health services for a population that is, on average, older than that of the United States, and yet France’s health expenditures in 2000 were equal to 9.5% of its gross domestic product (GDP) compared with 13.0% if GDP in the United States.” (Rodwin, 2003). France utilizes a universal coverage system which mixes private and public ambulatory care, greater resources and increased service volumes: it is solo based and follows a fee-for service based private care. The French national health insurance (NHI) system provides the standard of care every citizen of France is entitled to and almost 90% of French citizens are enrolled in a form of supplementary insurance. The French NHI concludes several theories in insurance legislation: (1) it is possible to achieve universal coverage without requiring a complete restructure of government budgeting; (2) national responsibility for its citizens is much more equitable than delegating these responsibilities to other authorities, and (3) the involvement of

Similar to the United States, China and Brazil has been facing the growing problems of a large uninsured population and health care cost inflation. This is due to Employment-based insurance does not cover dependents or migrant workers which leads to those who are sick having to pay out of pocket. As a result, access to medical care and health insurance is difficult for the poor, uninsured, and underinsurance (Shi & Singh, 2015 pg. 22).

The healthcare system in China has made considerable advancements in recent years to make health treatment accessible. In 2009, China launched an ambitious healthcare reform plan to provide health insurance coverage for nearly 95 percent of its citizens. The reform also included efforts to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for citizens. However, despite these changes, China’s progress is hindered by inefficiency and corruption. For a large developing country, and one that has the world’s largest population, it is imperative for China to improve its healthcare. The intent of this paper is to gain an understanding of China’s healthcare system by reviewing its development from the beginning of the Communist party takeover in 1949 to the present, and the differences in healthcare between rural and urban regions of mainland China.

The new epoch in China’s history of 20th century, and in particular for China’s health care system is considered early 1980-es, just after the free market economy reform was introduced in the country. To understand what the impacts of these reforms on health care system were, it is necessary to have a brief overview of the health system, which was operating before market-economy reform in the country. During the so called “planned economy period” of China from 1949-1978 every person had an equal access to basic health care services. In urban areas, the workers were receiving health services based on subsidies from State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), as well as the family members of SOE employees and the retirees, which was called Labor

Another issue that contributes to the rural-urban divide is the extremely high cost of health care. In 2006, 39% of the rural population could not afford “professional medical treatment” ("Healthcare in China"). Even though the government has introduced various systems to try to overcome this lack of access to medical care, such as the Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme and has increased expenditure on health care, the results of this have not been equally spread. Many rural residents are still uninsured and have large out of pocket health care expenses. In addition, “80 percent of health expenditures are allocated to urban areas even though 70 percent of the population resides in rural areas” ("Healthcare in China"). This is an example of Chinas

The differentiated treatments for urban and rural areas mean limiting the growth of economics and the beginning of the wealth gap between rural area and urban area. As the developing of factories and trading, urban people are easier to get a high payment and stable job in the city and enjoy the subsidies from the government every month. Depending on the data in the China Statistical Yearbook, the ratio of per capital income between rural areas to urban areas in 1978 was 1:3. From 1988 to 1995, the percent of real income increased in big cities like Beijng was 81.9% and in rural areas like Gansu Province was only 0.6%. The lack of subsidies on the medical care in a rural area also enforces the poverty. In 1980, approximately 40% of patients who need hospital treatments had to remain at home due to the poor medical care in rural. Nearly 70% of families under the poverty line were because of the illness and sick. All these differences push people to move to cities for higher payment job and more opportunities.