Effects of the Uninsured
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Uninsured Children
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The societal effects of uninsured children are wide ranging. According to non-profit organization Children’s Defense Fund, there are more than eight million uninsured children in the United States in 2010. Among other things, uninsured children are four times as likely to have dental problems as insured children. In 2000, dental problems resulted in children missing 51 million hours in school. This educational disparity effects society as uninsured children become adults with less education, who face stiff competition in the job market. Black and Latino children are less insured than white children; thus unavailable health insurance exacerbates racial inequality as it negatively affects the quality of life in children.
Homelessness
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There is a direct connection between homeless populations in the United States and the healthcare industry. According to a report published in 2009 by America’s National Coalition for the Homeless, a lack of health insurance leads directly to homelessness in many situations. Those without healthcare are most often low-income. A major injury or disease in a family without proper access to low-cost healthcare through insurance can lead directly to bankruptcy on account of hospital bills. This in turn leads to homelessness. Homelessness is often exacerbated by disease and injury that prevents the homeless from going back to work, and is untreated due to the costs.
Financial Burden
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The uninsured place a great financial burden on the health care industry in the United States. However, statistics indicate that the burden placed by the health care industry by the insured might be greater. In 2008, the uninsured accrued $35 billion in unpaid health care. Yet estimates indicate that this was less than two percent of total expenditures by the industry in that year. In 2007, the uninsured paid $30 billion of their own money for healthcare. Meanwhile, insured patients who refuse to meet co-payments caused 75 percent of bad medical debt.
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