Issues in Health Insurance

As of 2010, health insurance is a hotly debated issue in the United States. Its cost is rising steadily, and many lower and middle income people are unable to afford health insurance. Insurance companies deny coverage to many people with pre-existing conditions, and many people are unable to leave their job or change jobs because they cannot afford to lose their health insurance.

Cost

• As of 2010, the largest issue surrounding health insurance in the United States is its cost. According to GovSpot, American workers in 2010 spent one out of every five dollars they earned on health care, which was twice per capita the average amount in other industrialized countries. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimate that the amount spent on health care in the U.S. will reach $4.3 trillion in 2016, or 20 percent of the GDP. Because of these rising costs, approximately 47 million Americans do not have health insurance, according to Public Agenda. Unfortunately, this spending does not lead to better overall health in the United States. In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that at least 28 other countries had lower infant death rates than the United States in the first year of life.

Pre-existing Conditions

• One of the primary concerns raised about health insurance in the U.S., as of 2010, is the practice of insurance companies denying people coverage for pre-existing conditions; illnesses that they had been diagnosed with prior to applying for health insurance. In some cases, insurance companies refuse to cover any health complications relating to people’s pre-existing conditions. Other people are denied coverage altogether. This is especially problematic for individuals with life-threatening illnesses such as AIDS, cancer or advanced diabetes. As a result of these policies, many Americans who contract illnesses while they are not insured are forced to go without health care right when they need it the most.

Government Involvement

• Many countries subsidize health insurance for their citizens in some way. In the United Kingdom, health care is funded directly by the federal government and is free for all citizens. In most other European countries, health care is subsidized in varying degrees, depending on an individual’s income level and age. Insurance and care are provided by private companies, but the government gives vouchers or funding to individuals who cannot afford the full price of coverage. Universal health care refers to the practice of guaranteeing health coverage to all citizens, either through subsidies or through government-run health care programs. As of 2010, the majority of European countries provide universal health care for their citizens, as do many countries in Asia and South America. In March of 2010, U.S. President Barak Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. The law aims to extend coverage to almost all U.S. citizens, by mandating that all people have health insurance and by providing subsidized health care to lower income individuals.