The Need for Health Insurance

RESEARCH

TheNeed for Health Insurance

Outline

1. Abstract

2. Introduction/Thesis statement

3. Body

1. The percentage of uninsured immigrant and the poor in U.S

2. Benefits of health insurance to the disadvantaged in the society

1. Outpatient services

2. Emergency Services- Crime injuries, accidents

3. Newborn and maternity care

4. Mental health services and rehabilitative measures- Individuals aiming to stop smoking and consuming alcohol

5. Laboratory and pediatric services such as vision and oral care

3. Pros of insurance cover to the poor, immigrants and unemployed

1. Ever increasing premiums makes insurance cover unaffordable to low income earners

2. Many health insurance firms have a limitation regarding office visit

3. If a surgery or illness does not fall under the list of an insurance company, one has to pay for the treatment

4. Summary

5. Recommendation- Reduces premiums, make health insurance covers all inclusive, promoting healthy lifestyles and subsiding the amount paid by immigrants.

Abstract

Dueto high premiums charged, the issue of insurance cover has raisedconfusion among the immigrants, unemployed and poor in the society.This research paper aims to present an argumentation on why insurancecover is important to all citizens. Among the disadvantages discussedcomprise effectiveness in covering emergencies and outpatientservices. Furthermore, health insurance covers are important toindividuals who plan to undertake rehabilitation measures or peopleseeking maternal services. The paper discusses how health insuranceaids old individuals live their entire lifespan. The research alsodiscusses the disadvantages of applying for health cover. Healthinsurance covers are expensive, and they are not all inclusive. Thegovernment regulations make it difficult for the immigrants to accesshealth insurance. Moreover, the essay provides a summary andrecommendations for improving health insurance. Some of therecommendations comprise reducing health insurance premiums, makinghealth insurance covers all inclusive, promoting healthy lifestylesand subsidizing the amount paid by immigrants.

Thesis Statement

Payingof health insurance cover should be upheld. It aids individuals whenunexpected situations arise. This paper discusses why it is importantto apply and persistently pay for health insurance premiums among thepoor and the minority groups such as the immigrants. The researchalso highlights limitations of health insurance, and ways of reducingthe challenges experienced.

Approximately15.4 % or 33 million U.S citizens do not have health insurance coversas per the statistics of 2015 (Krueger &amp Kuziemko, 2015). Thou,the Affordable Care Act of March 2010 aimed to cover the minority andpoor people, it ironically left them out due to the high costinvolved. Among the uninsured individuals, comprise 7 millionimmigrants who do not have valid authentication documents (Boyle &ampRobinson, 2014). Consequently, they do not qualify for Medicaid,which subsidizes the amount paid by the immigrants and the disabledindividuals in the country. Of the uninsured people, 7% claim to havesought health insurance services without success. In addition, 46%people regard health insurance as unreasonably expensive (Fuchs,2012). As results, they prefer investing in other areas. 13% of theuninsured people do not perceive it as a necessary requirement toapply for health insurance (Fuchs, 2012).

Dueto labor requirements, approximately 85.2 % of the employedindividuals are insured (Krueger &amp Kuziemko, 2015). Both thegovernment and private sector require people to insure themselves tocater for high bills in case of emergencies. There is a large marginbetween the poor and the rich. Hence, payment for health insuranceamong the poor leads to a remarkable reduction of the earnedresources.

Discussion

Despite the negative effects associated with healthinsurance cover, it is worth payment. The poor and the immigrants aremore prone to diseases such as obesity, diarrhea, HIV/AID, ulcers andtype 2 diabetes. In addition, 6.3 million people die every year dueto tobacco-related complications such as respirational diseases andasthma (Schiller, Lucas, &amp Peregoy, 2012). 65% of smokers in U.Scomprise the poor and the immigrants. Additionally, 4.9 millionsuccumb to alcohol every year, of which 73% comprise the low-incomeearners (Schiller, Lucas, &amp Peregoy, 2012). The low incomesearners work to drive away their stress, and they end up harmingtheir bodies. As a result, the poor require health insurance more therich. In the case of liver cirrhosis, lung cancer, throat cancer orbreathing problems, low-income individuals will have limitedexpenditure in hospitals. After a prolonged suffering from cancer orrespiration problem, many individuals detest their smoking ordrinking behaviors. Statistics indicates that the U.S populationalone spends $600 billion every year to treat diseases related tosubstance abuse such as tobacco (Tilburtet. al. 2013). Rehabilitation cost for indoorindividuals is $5,500 for the entire session, which is unaffordableto low income-earners. In comparison, the cost of health insuranceper an individual is $4, 354 (Fuchs, 2012). Consequently,rehabilitation measures are quite expensive and can only befacilitated easily through applying for health insurance. In orderto achieve long life, health insurance is essential for the poorpeople. It will cater for their rehabilitation costs, leading to areformed life.

The low incomes people are the most affected by obesity.The poor target low priced food the fit their budgets. In the currenttimes, cheap products such as flour and fast foods are highlyprocessed and they lead to increased body weight. More the 3 millionpeople die every year due to obesity-related diseases where manyconsist of the poor (Schiller, Lucas, &amp Peregoy, 2012). Withhealth insurance cover, the poor will able to cater for diseases suchas cancer and type 2 diabetes.

When a deadlydisease strikes, the poor have to part with their meager assets tosave the life of their beloved family members or a spouse. As aresult, without health insurance, the poor are likely to languish inpoverty for an extended period. Health insurance will secure thefamily’s resources as well as provide a foundation for developmentin future. Illnesses such as cancer have devastating effects due totheir high treatment cost. Hence, pre-planning is important isreducing stresses that are inevitable when a family member isgroaning with pain. In addition, people tend to experience bodycomplications as they age. Diseases such as cataracts, diabetes,bladder problems, lungs diseases, glaucoma and dementia inflict oldpeople and reduce energy utilized in conducting daily routines (Shi&amp Singh, 2014). Health insurance is important tothe elderly people as it reduces overreliance on their children.

Currently, infantmortality has increased in U.S. In the year 2014, 23,000 infants mettheir immature death (Krueger &amp Kuziemko, 2015). The deaths wereattributed to birth defects, low or absence of maternity services andinjury of the baby during birth. The minority group in the societyneeds health insurance to prevent infant mortality. With healthinsurance, the expectant mothers will be relieved from paying formaternity services. Also, due to weak immune system, young childrenencounter many diseases. Mothers will be able to facilitate treatmentmeasures for their young ones without encountering any cost.

Those who oppose theneed for health insurance claim that the program leads to greatdeduction of individuals’ income.In addition, they indicate thehealth cover facilitate reckless lifestyle. Since medical cover isavailable, individuals can be tempted to indulge in alcoholism orfrequent consumption of fast foods. In case of stomach upset, one canconsult for medical help with ease. In the early times, healthinsurances were unavailable but individuals` lifespan was more than80 years compared to nowadays, which is relatively 60 years (Shi&amp Singh, 2014). With increased population, the landfor growing indigenous crops and vegetables has reduced. Moreover,the high population has caused increased pollution and globalwarming. As a result, the world population is exposed to consumptionof genetically modified foods and toxic gasses such as benzene andtoluene, which interfere with the normal functioning of the body. Newdiseases have emerged such as blood cancer and it is difficult topredict whether one will be affected. Health insurance remains as themost effective strategy to deal with unexpected outcomes. Even if onetries to live a healthy lifestyle, it becomes difficult to preventinfection as they can result from industrial gas pollution orconsumption of contaminated water. In addition, disease is becomingdifficult to determine due to conflicting similarities.

Some individuals arediscouraged from taking medical health cover due to complexprocedures especially the immigrants. Immigrant and internationalindividuals are required to submit their documents to verify theircountry of origin. For instance, immigrants for war zone areas suchas the Middle East are subjected to rigorous scrutiny. U.S hosts1.02 million immigrants from Middle East countries that consist ofLebanon and Iraq (Boyle &amp Robinson, 2014). According to thecurrent statistics, 150,000 have not been insured to unceasingscrutiny (Boyle &amp Robinson, 2014). Majority opt to live withouthealth insurance and pay for cost when the need arises. However, theimmigrants should persist in seeking for health insurance. Immigrantslive in congested areas where crime activities are frequent. As aresult, many individuals risk being shot by criminals or experiencingmotor accidents. Due to the current hard economic times, it isdifficult to mobilize individuals to raise hospital bills compared tofollowing the procedure of applying for health insurance.

Individuals who areinstructed to undergo specific surgeries such as head and heartsurgery are met with high bills. Currently, the cost of brain surgeryis approximately $150,000 while heart surgery ranges from $80,000-$200,000 (Tilburtet. al. 2013). Additionally, in cases of severe heartinfection, one has to pay $800,000 in order to facilitate hearttransplant. Furthermore, after an organ transplant, one has tocontinue undertaking medicines due to hormones reaction. Due to thehigh cost involved, health insurances pay some of the money, and aninflicted individual clears the bill. Thou it is one of healthinsurance limitation, it provides hope of accessing the rest of themoney. With half of the money provided, friends are motivated tocontribute the rest of the funds.

Summary

Health insurance isimportant especially for the poor, immigrants or the unemployed. Currently, 33 million U.S citizens have not been insured. People whooppose health insurance claim it to be expensive. In addition, healthinsurance companies do not cover all medical expenses. They onlysubmit limited amount of funds to costly medical procedures such asheart and head surgery. 46% of individuals without medical coverconsider it waste of resources that can be used a capital forbusiness investment (Shi&amp Singh, 2014). The cost of health insurance ismore the $4, 354 per year. As claimed by some of the insuredindividuals, the amount can be saved for more than two years. Later, it can be channeled to medium sized business. Immigrants findit difficult to secure health insurance. For an immigrant to becovered, one has to provide comprehensive documents from the mothercountry, which are not easy to access. Nevertheless, the benefits ofhealth insurances outweigh the disadvantages. With health insurancecover, one is not worried about high hospital bills. Healthinsurances cater for the majority of diseases such as asthma,typhoid, breathing problems, heart attacks, and obesity. Healthinsurance proves effective for elderly individuals and expectantmothers. The old people do not rely on the government of theirchildren for medical assistance. In addition, health covers preventinfant mortality as mothers are able to access maternal services atan insignificant cost. In addition, health insurance provides a greatrelief when unexpected outcomes strike such injuries from motorvehicles or injury from criminals. Some operations such as heartoperation are expensive, and they demand the support of healthinsurance.

Recommendations

The governmentshould intervene to the flight of immigrants. Immigrants face therisk of death in crucial cases such heart diseases as they havelimited resources. The government can reduce the procedure requiredto obtain health cover by the immigrants.

Despite supportingthe poor, the health premiums are still high. The government needs torestructure the cost of premiums further to encourage all U.Scitizens to apply for health insurance.

The government alsoneeds to make health insurance all-inclusive to cover for diseasessuch as heart surgeries and cancers. Due to the high cost involved,the uninsured people with consider applying of health insurances.

The governmentshould increase its effort of mobilizing people to acquire healthinsurance covers. After highlighting the disadvantaged, majority ofuninsured individuals are likely to apply.

References

Boyle, P.,Halfacree, K. H., &amp Robinson, V. (2014).&nbspExploringcontemporary migration.Routledge.

Fuchs, V. R.(2012). Major trends in the US health economy since 1950.&nbspNewEngland Journal of Medicine,&nbsp366(11),973-977.

Krueger, A.B., &amp Kuziemko, I. (2015). The demand for health insurance amonguninsured Americans: Results of a survey experiment and implicationsfor policy.&nbspJournalof health economics,&nbsp32(5),780-793.

Schiller, J.S., Lucas, J. W., Ward, B. W., &amp Peregoy, J. A. (2012). health statistics for US Adults: National health interview survey,2010.&nbspVitaland Health Statistics. Series 10, Data from The National HealthSurvey,(252), 1-207.

Shi, L., &ampSingh, D. A. (2014).&nbspDeliveringhealth care in America.Jones &amp Bartlett Learning.

Tilburt, J.C., Wynia, M. K., Sheeler, R. D., Thorsteinsdottir, B., James, K. M.,Egginton, J. S., … &amp Goold, S. D. (2013). Views of USphysicians about controlling health care costs.&nbspJama,&nbsp310(4),380-389.