subject: Insurance And Health Care In The Us [print this page] For several years now health care costs have been increasing. In the United States expenditures on health care in 2008 surpassed $2.3 trillion. This is more than three times what was spent in 1990 which was $714 billion. This is eight times what the expenditures came to in 1980 which was $253 billion.
It has been estimated that approximately 15.3 percent of the American population has no health insurance whatsoever. These people are therefore the most vulnerable to financial ruin when it comes to illnesses, injuries, sicknesses and diseases. They are also the least likely to seek out medical attention from doctors and go to the emergency room when something unforeseen happens to their health.
There is also a substantial percentage of the population that is deemed as underinsured. The percentage of underinsured individuals in the United States hovers at around 35 percent. What this means is that while they have some health insurance they do not have enough to completely cover all of the costs of their present or future health and medical needs.
While American citizens benefit from the investments that the government has made in terms of health care, the strain that has resulted from a rising federal deficit, increased costs and the overall slowdown of the economy has brought about difficulties in financing quality health care. All of these aspects have affected public health insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid and it has also affected private employer- sponsored health insurance plans.
The United States has the "third highest public health care expenditure per capita." The fact that individuals without health insurance cannot receive the quality health care that insured individuals can is a very real concern. According to a 2001 study done in five states across the U.S. it was found that 62 percent of bankruptcies were the result of a lack of insurance leading to medical debt. Since 2001 health costs have increased and so has the number of citizens that are uninsured and underinsured.
Health insurance programs that are funded by the government such as Medicaid and Medicare account for a large amount of money spent on health care. However the spending on public health insurance has increased at a slower pace than it has when it comes to private insurance. For example, per capita spending on Medicare has grown at the rate of 6.8 percent in comparison to spending on private health insurance which has grown at the rate of 7.1 percent annually for a 10 year period from 1998 to 2008.
by: James A Jackson
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