First, having affordable health care in the United States will decrease the number of uninsured. Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare has decreased the number of uninsured people yet, there are still people without acquiring health insurance. According to The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), which is a non-profit organization focusing on the national health issue and serving as a non-partisan source, individuals below the poverty line are at the highest risk of being uninsured. In 2015, 46% of uninsured adults said that they tried to get coverage, but did not because it was too expensive (KFF). The cost of health insurance is still an ordeal for people to get covered. The U.S government needs to consider that it is disproportionate …show more content…
However, to qualify for Medicaid people have to meet the poverty line, which means that for a single person the poverty line is $11,770 and for a family of five members is $ 28,440 (ASPE). The issue with this is that if a family make $28,540 ( a hundred more above poverty line) it is not anymore in the of poverty range, but it cannot afford an insurance plan through Obamacare. Nationally, more than two and a half million poor uninsured adults fall into the “coverage gap” that results from state decisions not to expand Medicaid, meaning their income is above current Medicaid eligibility but below the lower limit for Marketplace premium tax credits. These individuals would have been newly-eligible for Medicaid had their state chosen to expand coverage (KKF). Some states that did not expand Medicaid are Texas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Utah, and Wisconsin …show more content…
Having a health care is a right that everyone should have, as the World Health Organization (WHO) Constitution enshrines “…the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right of every human being.” It means that those that cannot afford health care should also be entitled to it just as they are entitled to food, housing, work, education, non-discrimination, access to information, and participation. For this reason, the U.S government should provide affordable health insurance to all its citizens because affordable health care will ensure that no one has to find out when they get sick that a necessary treatment has been excluded from their coverage or they cannot have necessary treatments. Every person should be able to purchase insurance plans that cover the benefits that they need and deserve as a human
One of this health care’s programs objective is to limit the number of uninsured (Shi & Singh, 2015). This controversial healthcare plan incorporates a privately funded insurance which is paid for through employment and solely by the patient and a publicly funded insurance by the government. Medicare is provided for senior citizens 65 and older, and Medicaid is provided for low income citizens. The federal government and state government both partake in the funding of Medicaid. Although insurance is provided to the low income through Medicaid, the United States continues to suffer from cost escalation spending 17.1 percent of GDP on healthcare in 2013, a 50 percent more than the second nation (Commonwealth, n.d.) The high cost and limited coverage continues to spark up the conversation for a
Implementation of the ACA would require an extensive expansion of the Medicaid program to low income adults in each state.³ The Congressional Budget Office projects that a previously 30 million uninsured Americans, approximately 92% of the legal, non-elderly population, will have coverage by 2022.³ The federal government will pay for 100% of the costs of expanding Medicaid programs until 2016, and then gradually fade their contribution to 90% by 2020.³ Currently, expansion of the Medicaid program is voluntary and several states have stated that they intend to turn down their share of the billions of dollars that has been made available to each state solely for the expansion of this program.³ States deciding to not expand their Medicaid program will not only exclude many poor, vulnerable families from access to an important health care program, but will also exclude themselves from an economic stimulus for their state and thereby decrease the strength of their health care delivery systems by not allowing them to be more financially stable for the long
I will compare the current health care system with the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that became law on March 23, 2010. The current system, which is being phased out between 2011 and 2018 is increasingly inaccessible to many poor and lower-middle-class people. About 47 million Americans lack health insurance, an increase of more than two million people from 2005 (Rover, 2011) the increasingly complex warfare between insurers and hospitals over who pays the bills is gobbling up a great deal of money and the end result is that the United States pays roughly twice as much per
ACA has helped over twenty million people get insured. Twenty-nine million people lack proper healthcare. The Uninsured are less likely to receive medical care as quickly as when they are sick, compared to people who are insured. Cost is higher when they get treatment, APHA say “40 percent of health costs of the uninsured are passed on to consumers who do have coverage, in the form of higher premiums”. Health care cost for each family can be more than a thousand dollars per year.
Anyone who wants the treat at the hospital, emergency room or doctor's office should be required to have health care/insurance, or money and anybody who cannot afford insurance are eligible for subsidies or government programs such as Medicaid according to the government plan. Many of Americans they oppose these ideas; before making coverage obligatory, we need to reform the health insurance market, to make stronger public health insurance programs, and finance premium lower for people who can’t afford coverage on their own. Those who support these ideas they are saying no one in the richest nation on earth should go without health care.
After the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted in 2010, much of the uninsured population in the United States were finally given the access to health insurance (Shi & Singh, 2015). Prior to the passing of the Act, those who did not have insurance still managed to seek medical attention, whether paying for medical care out of their own pockets or seeking the assistance of government programs. As reported by the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2013, 13.4% of the population in the U.S. were uninsured during the entire year (Smith & Medalia, 2014). Still, a great number of uninsured who sought medical care were unable to pay for those services, this is referred as uncompensated care. In 2013 the cost incurred from
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
Even with some especial programs like ACA, a lot of people can’t afford for coverage due to extreme rate of poverty.”Cost still poses a major barrier to coverage for the uninsured. In 2015, 46% of uninsured adults said that the primary reason they were uninsured was because it was too expensive, making it the most common reason cited for being uninsured”(Key
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or ‘Obamacare’ in 2010 and its implementation in 2014,there has been a steady decline in the uninsured population of the United States of America. The number of Americans with health insurance, has reached a historic peak. According to recent data from the Census Bureau about health insurance coverage, the number of uninsured Americans fell from 33 million the year prior to ACA implementation to 29 million in 2014.The total uninsured rate dropped by more than 4 percent since the health care law took effect. The ACA has significantly reduced the number of Americans who were not able to acquire health insurance due to poverty, unemployment, or having a pre-existing condition.
Every citizen in the USA should have insurance to protect theirself, in addition provide equality in America. That way every citizen will not be denied of treatment despite of urgency. Providing backup money will always be a key essential before a catastrophe happens; in fact, the government has the financial stability. Insurance for every citizen should be considered mandatory, for this purpose it supports Americans in rough times that are unpredictable. The United States government is the only multi-billion agency that can provide for billions of citizens in America. Requiring insurance for everyone must be sustained by a strong national government that has plenty of service to ensure tranquility and protection for
I strongly believe that all American citizens should be entitled free healthcare. This is due to that fact that this can play a big role of ensuring that there is an improved access to health services. In addition, ensuring that all American citizens have an access to the right health care will also decrease health care costs. For instance, by allowing people to receive regular and preventive medical care and not wait until they are persistently ill to request treatment when medical costs are much higher (Niles, 2011). In relation to this free health care will promote equal chance by decreasing the number of people who are economically deprived in society (Niles, 2011). This can be because of bad health and other medically-related financial problems.
Health care is not a privilege. In fact, a good level and quality on healthcare should be an inalienable right for all people. Social class, status or economic situation shouldn’t dictate who live and enjoy of good health or who doesn’t. Healthcare in America should be universal, continuous, and affordable to all individuals and families. Although some of the states in the US are taking unilateral measures not to focus exclusively on the poor, but seeks to guarantee health access to any uninsured people, achieving universal coverage will require federal leadership and support, regardless of which strategy is adopted to achieve this
As humans, the right to medical care is something that should be seen as a privilege. No one should have to worry about if they are able to receive the healthcare that they require. Everyone has the right to receive the care that they should need. The only way to provide equal care for everyone in America is if healthcare were to be free. Though many countries around the world are able to provide free healthcare, this is something that is unfortunately not possible for all countries. There would be many issues that would arise if free healthcare were provided here in America. Due to the fact that quality care would be difficult to find, taxes would be increased, and much more, health care should not be free.
When it comes to our health, a good healthcare plan is a very important subject for all individuals. Some even argue that it is a basic right to have one. Bernie Sanders stated, “Healthcare must be recognized as a right, not a privilege. Every man, woman, and child in our country should be able to access the health care they need regardless of their income…” (“Issues: Medicare for All”). However, reality tells us a whole different story. America is one of the most developed countries in the world with some of the best medical care. Yet, how can the people enjoy the benefits when it is almost unaffordable to most. People are afraid to fall sick just because they are afraid of how much it would cost. However, sometimes a doctor or hospital visit is unavoidable. In most cases, it comes at a great price, especially to the middle class and the elderly. Wealthy individuals are likely to reap the benefits of having an expensive healthcare plan, while the rest may suffer from the unimaginable cost of treatments, or even worse, live a risky life without insurance. An effective solution to this problem would be a Universal Healthcare System. This would ensure that all people have equal and affordable health coverage, centralized healthcare records for all individuals which will help easy diagnosis by doctors and reduce the intensive labor costs of medical billing. Moreover, it may boost the economy by freeing business from providing expensive healthcare benefits to workers.
The fact that health care isn’t free for everyone causes problems. Wealthy people being able to afford health care and poor people not are the first and biggest problem that we have today. This is very unfair. Whether a person is rich or poor, they still need the proper treatment and care in order for