Preview

Health Care in America

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
783 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Health Care in America
Running head: Health Care in America

Health Care in America: Impacts on the Uninsured and Underinsured

Health Care in America Health care in America is a serious issue as it involves families that are unable to receive accessible, affordable and quality medical treatment. Middle class or impoverished families are unable to receive the benefits of health care due to low income levels and a volatile economy. Politicians discuss the reformation of the health care system, but people who are uninsured suffer the consequences of a system that overlooks middle class families in favor of wealthy families, a dominant issue for conflict theorists. Some argue that the health care system is not in need of reform and state that government programs would require higher taxes and reduce health care quality. Health care is a major concern among Americans. The rise in uninsured people and the unstable security of insured people are of prime importance in resolving this critical issue. It was estimated that 47 million Americans were uninsured for a year as reported for the 2006 US Census. In addition, another 16 million people were considered underinsured (Ginsburg, et al., 2008, 1). There have been many attempts to demonstrate how the politics of health care (government intervention, health care policy, and personal issues) affects the concerns of those who are uninsured and underinsured. Some argue that government intervention is a risk that can further weaken the system.

Many fear that a looming economic disaster will affect the health care system for the long term. Reed Abelson argues that the problem of unpaid medical bills is worsening the financial crisis: “Even as Washington and Wall Street debate the best way to avert an economic disaster, increasing numbers of Americans are struggling with another financial crisis: the growing burden of unpaid medical bills” (Abelson, 2008, 1). More employees are paying out of pocket fees for their medical



References:

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The issue of the uninsured Americans and what can be done to rectify the situation has been on the forefront. However true this might be, it is also significant there are also other economic issues that are equally pulling the nation to its bare feet and which deserve to be addressed within the shortest time that can be afforded. The rising cost of the health care in the entire nation has elicited feelings of…

    • 3134 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Cost Of Health Care

    • 2150 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The cost of health care is a problem that the majority of Americans will face at some point in their lives. In America, the cost of health care is steadily rising while in other countries it is also rising but not nearly as quickly. This rising cost is causing many Americans to go without the care they need. How did we get to this point and what will we, as Americans, do about it? This is, by far, not a new problem, but it is one that has yet to be solved.…

    • 2150 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    US Health Care System

    • 683 Words
    • 5 Pages

    PPO- Preferred Provider Organization allow visits to innetwork doctors or healthcare provider with out a referral…

    • 683 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    The United States in one of the richest, most populous and most powerful countries in the world and plays a central leadership role in the world. On the world stage, the U.S. often challenges other countries about their records regarding human rights. Yet the United States is failing its own citizens by not granting every citizen access to basic health care. Many citizens in the United States needlessly suffer and die each day due to the inequities of the health care system in the U.S. This is a horrible national catastrophe! The United States needs to provide universal health care to all of its citizens and legal residents. While the issue is very complex and touches many people and institutions, it is a problem that can and must be solved.…

    • 2436 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sered and Fernandopulle argue why America current health system is in such horrible condition. Based on interviews with 120 uninsured men and women, medical providers, policy makers, and advocates in America, they discuss the consequences of being uninsured. There are more than forty million people uninsured in America and they detail what it means for society as a whole when so many people suffer the consequences of inadequate medical care. They analyze America job’s market and how fewer long-term jobs with health benefits are available. Sered is research director of Religion, Health, and Healing Initiative at the Center for the Study of Work Religion at Harvard University. Rushika Fernandopulle is Executive Director of the Harvard Interfaculty Program for Health Systems Improvement. This book provides personal experiences from uninsured people and the responses from politics and insurance providers. This allow me to understand how having no care from lack of health insurance affects people in my research.…

    • 1938 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Health, an issue that is timeless for any generation at any point in history. Some of great epidemics that have impacted history are the bubonic plague, ebola, the swine flu and the zika virus Here on United States soil, there many illnesses that affect our population, such as cancer, Hepatitis C, Shingles, Diabetes, tuberculosis, STDs, etc. Unfortunately, our government will intervene with other countries with medical aid, but they decide to make it harder for our citizens to receive the attention needed. Until 2010, when President Obama passed the affordable healthcare act(Obamacare). Majority of U.S. residents agree that, under this act; it has become more affordable to have health insurance. This has created lower prices for the care plans,…

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The United States healthcare system is quite expensive, having a unique and advanced system when compared with the other industrialized nations of the world. It actually does not have a universal coverage but in the recent years, the amendment of Affordable Care Act tried to enact healthcare coverage for almost everyone. However, implementation of ACA made almost 20 million individuals insured, reduced inequality, made Americans financially secure, and healthcare more comprehensive. But, on the other hand, the National Health Spending is still unclear; insurance continues to be expensive, health system lacks clarity, and whether this act was effective and made Americans healthier still remains a question.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The American health care system can be considered a complex system; because it requires several steps to obtain insurance, access the ideal health care, and maintain it. This can be considered a common health challenge for Asian Americans attempting to seek health care. According to the Asian American Health Initiative (2016) many Asian Americans do not obtain health insurance because they are unsure of who to ask or what to ask when attempting to gain health care (Aahiinfo.org, 2016). Problems also occur when Asian Americans consider the type of providers they may receive. They may have hesitations about the physicians understanding of their culture and how they may treat a certain symptom or illness (Aahiinfo.org, 2016). Their lack of…

    • 130 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Healthcare is a luxury that many Americans have the privilege of having. The help of technology is one of the main reasons the US provides top quality healthcare. Many people in the country are split between what is the best way to give affordable healthcare to the most people. For me personally, I believe that healthcare is a not a right. Healthcare is a perk of living in the greatest country in the world. Everyone should have the availability of healthcare, but that doesn’t mean that it should be equal. If people are willing to spend more money for better quality, then they should have the ability to chose which doctor they want to see.…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Health Care

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages

    One of the most controversial subjects in the news today is health care. The problem is not that the doctors can’t cure all of their patients, but it’s about how costly it is to cure all of these patients. The cost of helping these patients is paid for through Obama’s new national health care, which people’s taxes pay for. However, these taxes are sometimes not afforded by a certain majority of people. This makes matters even worse because all the procedures performed on these non-paying patients are paid for through the tax dollars of the working or insured people who are also gradually experiencing substantially higher taxes. This raises many questions where do the millions of uninsured Americans go for medical services? Why is it that someone who makes more money than someone else be forced to pay for them? Is that not a form of discrimination towards the upper middle class and tax paying citizens? Or perhaps is there a way to help these uninsured citizens by offering an affordable plan? Many would agree that things need to change in order for insured Americans to find a boundary where they wouldn’t have to pay such high taxes for uninsured Americans, while providing for a new way that those uninsured can still manage to get those medical services that they need.…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Police said as many as 10 people participated in the attack while 20 others watched -- jeering, taking photos and messaging friends to join them.…

    • 982 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Healthcare is the biggest problem in the United States. Most of insurance got more expensive and offer worst benefits and cover less than before. As we know already is 4.6 million uninsured people in the United States. Citizens are waiting for better opportunity to get health insurance. They are waiting for some changes every year.…

    • 1505 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Healthcare in America

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Healthcare has always formed a fundamental aspect of any nation. In fact, the economic health of any nation can be determined by examining the healthcare sector. Unfortunately, many countries are unable to provide comprehensive healthcare to their citizens. Of course, there are varied reasons for this in different countries, but for the United States, one of the most fundamental reasons has been the cultural disparity. Research has shown that the healthcare sector, as it is today, was formed with the majority races and cultures in mind, in which case the minorities have always felt as if they are left out (Welch, 1997). This has bred calls for advocacy and cultural competency. There have been calls that the US government should financially subsidize efforts to create a more culturally competent health care system. It goes without saying that giving these financial subsidies are some of the best things that ever happened to the healthcare sector.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Us Healthcare

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The United States has way higher healthcare costs than any other country in the OECD, mostly which is because of the extremely high expenses later in life. 17 cents of every US dollar is being spent on health care. At about age 60, healthcare expenses for US citizens skyrocket, averaging between $40,000 to $45,000 a year per person, which is way above Germany, who has the next highest with only about $10,000.…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sociology Paper

    • 1453 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The issues with the health care institution in American society can be attributed to a myriad of catalysts. The unequal access of health care can be argued from a conflict theorists perspective as an incredible flaw in the health care institution. Inequality in health care is an inevitable result of a capitalistic society where medicine and health care are bought and sold, therefore most of the people who obtain medical services are paying for them through insurance companies or a direct fee payment system; the average American…

    • 1453 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics