Impact of No Health Insurance Coverage

According to the Congressional Budget Office, 56 to 59 million Americans are without health insurance. Reasons for lacking health insurance include working for companies that do not offer health insurance, unemployment and incomes that are too low to afford more than food and shelter. The negative impacts on both consumers and providers of this significant group of uninsured citizens includes limited access, poor health outcomes and higher costs.

Limited Access

• Health insurance or lack of health insurance determines an individual's access to medical care. Persons who are not insured are not offered the same range of health-care services as those who are, according to a "Journal of Healthcare Management" article. While such rationing of services has a short-term benefit for the uninsured, in that they will not be building up medical debts, in the long run it can adversely affect their health. In communities where the percentage of uninsured citizens is low, this health service rationing may have little effect. In areas where many individuals are uninsured, however, services to all consumers may be reduced. Since hospitals must treat all patients regardless of their ability to pay and hospitals must have income in order to operate, a large percentage of uninsured consumers can force a hospital to reduce services across the board.

Poor Health Outcomes

• Uninsured persons may try to provide their own health care in order to avoid expenses they know they cannot afford. According to the "Journal of Healthcare Management," persons without insurance are much more likely to delay seeking medical care, much less likely to fill prescriptions, and only half as likely to follow through on treatment. Uninsured persons are less likely to engage in preventative health care and so early detection is not possible. Chronic health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease are not treated as consistently among the uninsured. Uninsured persons tend to not use their medications as directed, skipping medications stretching them out so they will last longer. Uninsured persons with serious conditions are reluctant to seek care until the symptoms are advanced.

Higher Costs

• Since the uninsured do not seek prevention services as frequently as those who have insurance, their condition may be much more serious when they do go for help. Ultimately, this makes the cost higher than if they had gone for help earlier. Some low-income individuals hope to wait for medical care when they reach age 65 and become eligible for Medicare. According to the "Western Journal of Medicine," "In almost all cases, the uninsured reported that they sought care only when they had persistent symptoms that interfered with their daily lives. Lack of money was the primary reason given for not seeking health care, and respondents often reported feeling extremely ill before they sought care."