Health Insurance In The United States

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Health Insurance Healthcare essay National Health Insurance in U.S: The development of a national system of HEALTH CARE in the United States has remained a major topic of debate throughout the United States, especially since the 1980s. Healthcare costs in the United States have risen dramatically during the past 40 years, due in part to longer average life spans, which give rise to greater costs because older citizens require greater care, and the employment of technologies that extend the life of patients, which generally results in greater spending. Insurance costs have likewise increased dramatically, and a relatively large percentage of U.S. citizens and other residents are uninsured or underinsured. According to information from the CENSUS…show more content…
Of the many reasons that exist, two are particularly important. The United States has a highly flawed system of funding health care and a flawed system of allocating its health care resources. In the United States, a multitude of private health plans cover the lucrative sector of society—low cost, healthy workers and their healthy families. But public programs must cover the higher costs of the elderly, individuals with permanent disabilities, and some low-income individuals. Since the uninsured are frequently unable to pay for the care they receive, the costs for their care are shifted to government programs or private plans, or to the charity of providers, even if unintended. The costly administrative excesses of private health plans, especially when contrasted to government programs, have been well documented. This fragmented system of funding care places an even greater administrative and financial burden on the providers of health care. (McCanne DR, 2004) Although the exact amount is disputed, most policy analysts agree that replacing this fragmented system of funding care with a single, universal, publicly administered insurance program could recover 200 billion dollars or more, which are currently being wasted on useless and sometimes detrimental administrative…show more content…
A universal, single-payer, publicly funded and publicly administered program of social insurance would ensure access to affordable, comprehensive, high-quality health care for all. It should be the standard by which any other proposals are judged. If a better proposal can be crafted, now is the time to do it. People are dying while we delay. Work Cited "Health Insurance." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003 "National Health Insurance Could Save Billions of Dollars." At Issue: Does the United States Need a National Health Insurance Policy? Nancy Harris. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006 Berry E. Health care plans target young adults. Chattanooga Times Free Press. 2007;May 28:Sect. 1. Bundorf, M.K., Pauly, M.V., 2006. Is health insurance affordable for the uninsured? Journal of Health Economics 25 (4), 650-673. Burton A, Friedenzohn I, Martinez-Vidal E. State strategies to expand health insurance coverage: Trends and lessons for policymakers. 2007. Available at: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id 461903. Catherine Hoffman, Julia Paradise (2007), Health Insurance and Access to Health Care in the United

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