Why is the United States the only advanced democracy without universal healthcare coverage (neither insurance nor a national healthcare system)?
Health coverage can be defined as the cover against loss through illness or bodily injury. The health insurance coverage provides cover for medicines that might be prescribed by the medical practitioner, visits to the doctor or the emergency room, inpatient charges as well as other medical expenses that an individual might incur while seeking treatment in a health facility. Health care spending in the US is unequally spread among the citizens.
The 2009 US Census Bureau indicates that approximately 50.7 million residents including 9.9 million non American citizens were uninsured. This is close to 16.7% of the entire US population. These studies therefore mean that more money per person is spent on health care in the US than in any other nation in the world. Studies have also indicated that a greater percentage of total income in the country is spent on health care alone in the US (National Healthcare Disparities report, 2003). This is a high figure than any other country in the UN member state.It is apparent that in the United States, government regulations play an important role into why the United States does not have universal healthcare coverage.
Literature review
(Ayres, 1996) states that the rich and well educated households typically have both better as well as better health and better health insurance coverage. (Cutler, 2004), states that the individual with poor health tend to pay for insurance coverage that those that hardly visit the hospital
(Rodriguez, 2006) states that Health care is a right to every citizen of the US, it is not right that the citizens of the US them being a super power should have majority of its citizens uninsured. US is one of the richest countries in the world and since other nations that are less privileged in term so resources are able to make the health coverage a priority to their citizens, why not the US?
According to (Lebow, 2003) “many Americans think that the country has a very good health care system. However most Americans do not realize that every other industrialized developed country has distinct health coverage to its citizens and despite covering everyone they spend considerably less than the US does on health care.
According to (Heskett, 2007) talks of the role of the government in US healthcare and states that the failure of the government to tackle the problems that hammer the establishment of a health care cover to all citizens is the reason why majority of the citizens are still uninsured.
Research design
A research design is a structure from which the research study will be conducted. It aims at collection all the relevant information with minimum expenditure effort, money and time.
Methodology
The most appropriate method of data collection fro this study will be interviews and use of questionnaires. Interviews were conducted in one major hospital in the state. The hospital holds approximately 1500 patients per day both in patient as well as out patients. This is an appropriate figure considering all the medical information for the patients will be available. Questionnaires were also handed over to the patients with reference to the health care insurance. The patients were asked to respond as to whether they have insurance cover and whether they are taxed for the medical insurance coverage. Five medical insurance companies were also contacted to be interviewed on their health care system. Out of the 1500 patients in the hospital 200 volunteered to be interviewed and respond to our questionnaires. Of the 200, 100 patients were randomly chosen to respond to the questionnaires that had earlier been structured and the other 100 were interviewed on healthcare insurance coverage. Of the five insurance companies’ contacted for the interview, 3 were available for the interview
Results
The interview held in the hospital showed that, over 60 out of the 100 patient’s interviewed did not have medical cover. 90 of them wished they could have a health care cover but they stated that they could not afford it. 82 of the patients said they were low income earners and their income will not enable them to afford health coverage. They therefore preferred to pay from their pockets the amount charged by the hospital. From the questionnaires 70 of the patients admitted no to having medical cover. 60 of the patients admitted that they desired to have medical care but did not have the financial means. 80 of the patients admitted that they needed government assistance to be able to afford the medical health care.
The insurance companies admitted that they required the government assistance to be able to attract more insurance holders. 2 of the three insurance companies admitted that majority of their medical cover holders are from well of families. And very few health cover holders are middle income earners.
Discussion
It is evident that majority of those that visit the hospital do not enjoy any medical coverage. This means that they spend more paying each of the services that they will receive in the hospital instead of having a medical cover to support them., Majority of those that do not have medical cover are middle and low income earners that do have the means to pay for extra services. It is apparent the government has to chip in so as to assist its citizen’s access medical assistance cheaply.
From the study conducted it is apparent that there is inequality in the quality of medical care that citizens can access. Those citizens that can afford high medical services are able to access better treatment as well as better hospital for medical care. There also are disparities between personal and societal price. Most of the citizens admit that they cannot afford to pay for their own medical cover as well as that of their families.
The US healthcare costs around $2 trillion per year. It has been alleged that of all these more than 31% of the amount is not received by the deserving citizens, it is used for administrative purposes and this therefore means that a high number of citizens will be left out in the healthcare cover. The system of transferring a huge sum of money to the administration services leaves over 40 million Americans without health insurance. Two main problems have been identified as the as obstacles to achieving a healthcare cover for all. One is the insurance company opposition, it is believed that insurance companies with good faith to incentives provided to the market could have subsidized for their losses while their managements shifts the health insurance strategies. The second obstacle is the higher taxes could be overcome by educating the public on the long term advantage to getting higher taxation of their income. A high taxation of the income means that more funds will be available to support the coverage of all the citizens no matter their economic class.
Conclusion
The room for improving the health coverage availability to all citizens is possible, it is up to the government to be more committal, reduce unnecessary expenses on administration costs. This money would have assisted many of the low income earning citizens to access cheaper and better medical services. It is apparent that the reason why the government has not embraced the universal health care system is due to the financial cost. Many analysts state that if the government takes up the task of financing the medical cost of its citizens then it would mean increased spending of the government. It is also feared that such a move would result to the extra costs being transferred to the citizens in terms of increased taxations.
Overall there is fear that the richer class of citizens may be hard pressed to pay tax than the middle and lower class income earners and as a result the richer classes are opposed to the move. It is evident that majority of the citizens are aware of the importance of medical cover insurance and there for the government is at task to put more effort in assisting its citizens. With majority of the developed countries providing medical cover assistance to their citizens it is responsibility of the US government, it being a powerful country to find solutions to handling the national health care system.
Reference
Rodrigues, I. (2006). Achieving universal care in the United States retrieved from www.york.cuny.edu/yorkscholar/v3/rodriguez_healthcare_v3.pdf on 23 rd April 2011.
Lebow, R. (2003). Health care meltdown confronting the myths and fixing our failing system.Alan C. hood & o., Inc.
Heskett, J. (2007). What is the government’s role in US healthcare? Retrieved from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5645.html on 24th April 2011
Ayres, M. (1996). Health care in the United States, the facts and the choices. American Library Associations
Cutler, D. (2004). Your money of your life: Strong medicine for America’s health care system. Oxford University press.
National Healthcare Disparities report (2003). Disparity report retrieved from
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr03/nhdr03.htm on 24th April 2011
