The United States’ current health care reform is leaving millions of people uninsured. Over 47 million people don’t have health insurance. 8.7 million of uninsured people are children. When asked if she had health care insurance Ready Berehe, 10, said “Yes, I have health care insurance.” Berehe later went on to talk about a situation where health care became an issue for her family. “Before, you could use your insurance to pay for things. Recently, my mom had a check up and we went to get her contacts from Hour Eyes, but our insurance would cover it. We had to pay ourselves.” Noh Mohammed, 11, also has health insurance. When asked if he had any complications with his insurance company he replied by saying, “I don’t think so, but it’s happened to my dad.”
Citizens all over the country are trying to find reasons for the recent decline in health care. Businesses are a primary source. Many businesses want to save money by cutting down the finances they spend on insurance for their employee’s. This is due to the rise of health care premiums at several times the rate of inflation. As a result, employees must have more co-pay when the receive hospital help. Insurance companies can only cover so much for employees. After the insurance handles some of the billing costs, employees are left to pay for the rest of the expenses, otherwise known as co-pay. Larger companies have an advantage when it comes to health care coverage. The more employees they have, the better their insurance discount. Smaller businesses are at a disadvantage because they are limited in money, therefore can’t afford better premiums for their employees.
The most successful public health care program is Medicare. Many people over the age of 65 rely on it. In late 2003, the Bush administrations created a Medicare prescription drug bill shifting Medicare from publicly offered to exclusive. The bill also forced 32 million senior to pay higher premiums and Medicare costs and prevented the federal government from negotiating affordable costs for drugs.
In comparison to the United Kingdom’s (UK) health care plan, the US’s seems much more complex. UK citizens are granted free health care. If they pleased, they could walk into a hospital and not have to pay for any of the expenses. The UK ratio for primary care doctors to specialists is 50:50 compared to the US’s 35:65. This is good for the UK because it balances things out, creating fewer malpractice cases because of specialists trying to be both its current occupation and a primary care doctor at the same time and vice versa.
Barack Obama’s health care reform will try to fix the mistakes of the United States’ current health care reform. It will try to control the rising costs of health care, making it more affordable to citizens. Families won’t be prone to bankruptcy or debt due to costs. If one happens to lose their job their insurance coverage will not be taken from them. Rising health care costs will be reduced for businesses and the government. Citizens can also choose their doctor.
By adjusting the health care reform, the US can eliminate wasteful inefficiencies such as the duplication of paperwork and claim approval. A centralized national database for making diagnosis’s and treatment for patients will be made easier for doctors. Most importantly, the well being of people will be guaranteed. Doctors can focus on the healing of a patient instead of worrying about insurance procedures and malpractice liability.
