Basic Health Eligibility Qualifications

Diseases and disorders of every form are a part of life, and basic health has to be taken care of always. In light of this, most governments provide basic health care for their citizens freely or in the form of heavily subsidized programs. However, these provisions are available only to certain persons who meet predetermined criteria.

Citizenship/Residency

• Citizenship/residency is normally the number one qualification for persons seeking basic health care in a specific country. The health provisions are normally meant for the citizens or permanent residents of that particular country since the money used to finance health care comes from the taxpayers. It is thus common for medical representatives to insist on seeing one's identification documents to verify residency status.

Income

• Basic health programs in many developed nations are targeted to the indigent or those whose income is lower than a certain predetermined amount. Those with income above this amount do not meet these eligibility guidelines; and as such, they normally cover their own medical expenses, either out-of-pocket or through an employer's plan. This may lead to the assumption that the rich pay for the health care needs of the poor; this statement has some element of truth considering that the poor pay little in taxes.

Age

• Many governments have set up funds for the elderly and disabled as this group is considered to have limited abilities to pay for its own needs. A health care fund is set aside apart from the taxpayer's money, thus making them eligible for basic health care coverage. The funds for this demographic may come from donors in the case of developing countries or donations from the citizenry itself. An example of such a fund in the U.S. is Supplementary Security Income (SSI).

Retirement

• Retirees have their health care needs met courtesy of the Social Security taxes which they paid when they were actively employed. Whether they were employed by the state or in private companies, a certain percentage of their salary was submitted to the Social Security Administration. Once a person retires from his job, the basic health eligibility qualification applies.

Emergency

• Health care for non-citizens is provided for emergency purposes only. The government of the particular country that the non-citizen is visiting acts in good faith and provides treatment for that person. Pregnancy cases are also included in this form of health care.