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Health Care Insurance Problems in America

Many experts believe the main problem with health insurance in the United States is the for-profit health insurance system itself. Because American health care is controlled by big business, they argue, market behavior and opportunism have supplanted healing and wellness as the driving forces behind the nation's health care, abandoning millions of Americans in the process.

  1. Preventable Death

    • Out of the 19 industrialized nations, America had the worst record of preventing deaths that could have been prevented by access to effective and timely health care. In the "Mortality Amenable to Health Care" study published in "Health Affairs," researchers reported that other countries made significant strides in this area, but the U.S. did not. Lead researcher Ellen Nolte believes America's dismal showing is due to the increase in its uninsured, which as of 2010 was 59 million people. Additionally, American families who can't afford insurance or are denied insurance for preexisting conditions are far more likely to forgo checkups and vaccinations, leaving them at risk for serious and communicable diseases that threaten the health of everyone.

    System in Practice

    • A large, national survey from 2006 showed how America's for-profit health insurance affects cancer patients and their families, often leaving them without coverage when they need it the most and creating severe financial hardship for them when they're most vulnerable. According to the survey, 1 in 10 cancer patients could not buy health insurance because they had been diagnosed with the disease. Six percent of the patients lost their health insurance because of the cancer diagnosis. Insurance companies increase profits by keeping seriously ill people off of their rosters.

    Veterans

    • According to the findings of a Harvard/Public Citizen report, 1.69 million veterans had no health insurance coverage or regular care from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) as of 2003. Many veterans find themselves in the precarious position of earning too much money to qualify for VHA benefits but too little to afford private health insurance. Even veterans with serious combat-related conditions find they have been abandoned by the health care system.

    Rural Americans

    • Americans who live in rural areas are much less likely to have medical insurance and access to regular health care. Because of higher poverty rates, more self-employment and seasonal employment, rural residents are less likely to have employer-sponsored, group health insurance. As a result, rural residents pay almost half of their medical expenses out-of-pocket and one out of five farmers have medical debt. Additionally, rural residents tend to have more chronic diseases, like diabetes and heart problems, which for-profit insurance companies routinely use to deny coverage or raise premiums to unaffordable levels.

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