Why Everyone Needs Health Insurance
Recent years have marked an unprecedented amount of dialogue on the problems of America's health care system
. As the unemployment rate remains high and businesses continue to tighten their belts by ceasing to offer health insurance, taxpayers are realizing just what a mess our health care system truly is.With millions of Americans uninsured, Obama has attempted to address the problems that come with this status by mandating individual health insurance. While the ruling is yet to be determined as to it's constitutionality by the Supreme Court (hearing date to be determined), it seems that everyone is worried about what is to come.
Most individuals that lack health insurance do not do so by choice, but by desperation. With unemployment and underemployment rampant, families have to choose between insurance and basic living needs such as housing and food.
There are far too many law-abiding citizens that make slightly over the limit to obtain assistance from Medicaid or other state-run health programs. Many state-run health programs, such as HIP, or the Healthy Indiana Program, are supposedly designed to assist these individuals, particularly those that cannot gain approval from other health insurance companies.
Unfortunately, the fact is that even these additional programs are maxed out, approving very few applications due to unclear income guidelines or a lack of resources to offer the service to many people.
These taxpayers may be considered to be "in the middle"- they don't make enough to afford health insurance, but make too much to obtain governmental assistance. To where do these people turn?
Over 750,000 people file bankruptcy annually due to medical bills, accounting for half of all filed bankruptcies. These filings effect over 2 million people, and over 700,000 children. Just based on these numbers, it is clear that our health care system must be reformed.
Emergency room waiting times are statistically longer for the uninsured than for the insured, a claim denied by all hospitals. Urgent care clinics and emergency room wait times are also significantly longer when located in poor neighborhoods rather than affluent neighborhoods, resulting in increased pain, suffering, and even death- just because someone is poor.
A surprising number of the uninsured skip essential prescribed medication to save money on a regular basis, resulting in diminished productivity. This decrease in productivity, when compounded with the sheer number of people who lack the proper care and medication, in fact has a huge effect on the Gross National Product.
It seems rather paradoxical that those individuals that could easily pay the full cost out of pocket for medications and health services are those with excellent health coverage, while those that cannot afford basic health care are left with bills in the thousands of dollars.
If the United States is to truly stay competitive in today's global market, the health of its citizens must be addressed, both physically and financially. With such a complex issue, it would behoove lawmakers to consider the successful health care systems of other so-called civilized countries as a model for our own failure of a system.
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