...“We need to fight the plague of the uninsured the way we have fought other threats to our way of life and our basic values” (Herbert Kohl”. Herbert Kohl is a businessman, politician and former democratic senator of Wisconsin. In today’s world, being a minority, a woman and having a low-income is one of the worst nightmares for someone living in the America. Millions of working, uninsured Americans go to bed every night praying and worrying about what will happen if an illness or injury strikes. Nearly 15% of women population in Arizona is uninsured and unable to get basic health care. Planned Parenthood, a non-profit organization offers help to the low-income and underserved communities by providing affordable healthcare to young teens, women, and parents....
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...Population – Part II Uninsured and Underinsured children in America are one many vulnerable groups that impact the financial aspect of health care. This paper will discuss the financial impact and delivery of the United States health care system. It will also discuss the different types of funding that are available to uninsured and underinsured children. Last, the paper will discuss issues and challenges of this vulnerable group along with some solutions that government has come up with. Uninsured/Underinsured Children in the United States Health care is financed by different means. There are public and private financing. Public financing options are through the government and states and consist of Medicare, Medicaid, and Children Health Insurance program. Private financing options consist of group insurance, self-insurance, and Managed Care Plans. Uninsured and underinsured children can get the help they need from many public financing groups whereas the private options tend to turn them down. Financial Impact Uninsured and underinsured children have a major financial impact on the economy. “The health costs of the uninsured have become an economic burden of the business community through property taxes, higher health insurance premiums, and lost productivity of workers with sick family members” (Edelman, 2009, para. 5). In other words someone has to pay for the health care of the uninsured and underinsured children in the United States. When parents are off...
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...Health Care Economics and the Uninsured School of Nursing Health Care Economics and the Uninsured The United States health care system is a large and complex structure organized to deliver health care services to the country’s residents (Maurer, 2013). The system is not systematically organized, but is the result of the interrelationships between numerous influences such as culture, consumers, epidemiology, health professionals, governmental policy, technology, and economics (Maurer, 2013). Due to the various, and, often conflicting, interests on the U.S. health care system, large disparities exist in the delivery of health care to consumers. In fact, according to Maurer (2013), “the consumer is the most vulnerable component and is the most likely to be hurt by ineffective functioning of the system” (p. 63). Because of the ineffectiveness of the current system for so many Americans and the disparities that exist among consumers, the American Nurses Association [ANA] (2008) described the current U.S. health care system as “in a state of crisis” (Executive Summary, para. 1). For many Americans, the major obstacle preventing them from receiving quality and reliable health care is a lack of health insurance (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ], 2012; Maurer, 2013; Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured [KCM&U], 2012). More specifically, the way our health care system is financed, a piecemeal approach of...
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...a Universal Health Care System in America Health care reform has recently become top priority for policy makers, and health administrators. The current health care system faces many costly problems for the uninsured/underinsured, employment-based insurance coverage, and financially burdened health service providers. Although policy makers have made many attempts to raise the number of insured, through programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, the number of uninsured Americans continues to rise. Currently 45 million American have no health insurance and children make up approximately 10 million of that number reported by the U.S. Census Bureau (8-10). The politicians and largely the medical societies, appear to be unable to decide what society’s responsibility in health care should be to those who are unable to purchase basic coverage. Surveys conducted by institutions like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation have noted that the proportion of people named the uninsured as the single most important domestic issue. Additionally, the Woods and Kaiser Foundation study concludes 55% of the participants expressed willingness to pay some level of taxes to cover the uninsured (1-4). The majority thought that the uninsured should be offered a federal funded health care package. Universal health can enhance health and well-being by promoting access to high-quality care that is cost effective, efficient, safe, timely, patient-centered, and...
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...March 23, 2010 marked a momentous occasion for President Barack Obama and the 111th United States Congress. This is the day that the 44th President of the United States of America signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This was the largest social legislation passed in decades. Just one week later, on March 30, 2010, President Barack Obama enacted the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 in order to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. (Stolber and Pear, A19) Together they make enormous changes to health care services in the United States. This health care act affects everybody in the United States. This act will not only impact everyone as an individual, but it will also impact businesses as a whole. For this reason, this is something that everyone in America should have a clear understanding about. One of the main points of the new health care reform is to ensure that all Americans have insurance. With insurance not having been mandatory before, Americans who were uninsured had to deal with several financial problems when it came to paying medical bills. There are several individuals that do not have any medical insurance because they either do not have a job or the job that they do have does not offer insurance. And even some people who have the option to have insurance may not buy if because they don’t want to pay for it. And then these same people who have the option to have it but choose not to may end up using a government...
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...Although about half of current medical expenses in the United States are currently paid for through government programs such as Medicare (for the elderly), Medicaid (for the very poor and disabled), and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)for children, the American health care system can best be described as a patchwork of public and private programs (such as employer-based coverage). A mixture of public programs and private programs is common among nations that essentially cover all residents, but the American system is unique — and often uniquely inefficient in economic terms. Keywords Accessibility; Adverse Selection; HMO (Health Maintenance Organization); Medicaid; Medicare; Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (Part D); Managed Care; "Play or Pay" State Health Care Tax Policies; Rationing Health Care; Single-Payer Health Care System; CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program); Socialized Medicine; Two-Tiered Health Care System; VA (United States Department of Veterans Affairs) The US Health Care System Social Issues Overview Health Care Systems The medical business defies the normal laws of economics in at least three important ways: * Government-run programs are often cheaper, more administratively efficient, and even of superior quality than privately-run programs at the national level. * Medical insurance functions poorly by market principles unless potential policy holders most in need of health insurance are either denied coverage or are denied...
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...The Policy Process University of Phoenix The Policy Process The policy process is an ongoing event according to Kronenfeld (1997). When a policy is formulated there are two major parts; agenda setting and development of legislation. After these stages then the implementation stage begins. The way issues emerge can bring public awareness to a situation, such as the need for healthcare reform in the United States and eliminating the uninsured population. This paper will discuss and define the various stages of the policy process required to address this issue and will include the formulation stage, legislative stage and the implementation stage. Policy formulation begins with problems, possible solutions and political circumstances (Kingdon, 2009). Identifying problems and agenda setting is the first step in the policy formulation process. The problem in this scenario is that 46 million Americans are without health insurance in the United States (Census Bureau, 2008). With the number of uninsured American’s, policy formulation is critical; issues need to be straightforward, who is involved in the process, and what needs to be done has to be clearly defined in order for policy to be considered at this stage (Fafard, 2008). The Institute of Medicine reported that between 2000 and 2006, 137,000 American’s died due to lack of health insurance (Dorn, 2008); this number includes 22,000 alone in 2006. This is evidence enough for health reform to be on a political agenda for policy...
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...The Faces of the Uninsured: An Issue Brief Amber Anderson February 15th, 2014 The Faces of the Uninsured: An Issue Brief Amber Anderson February 15th, 2014 Important to Note: 1= Yes Health Insurance 88.2% 2= No Health Insurance 11.5% * Data extracted from CDC BRFSS 2012 Important to Note: 1= Yes Health Insurance 88.2% 2= No Health Insurance 11.5% * Data extracted from CDC BRFSS 2012 The topic of Health Reform and the uninsured is an issue at the height of concern in politics. In 2013, it was estimated that over 48 million Americans were uninsured (KFF). The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a United States phone survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control that looks at behavioral risk factors. According to this data from the BRFSS 2012, as displayed in the table below, 88.2% of individuals surveyed reported having some form of health plan while 11.5% reported having no form of health plan, which estimates to be 54,801 people (CDC). HAVE ANY HEALTH CARE COVERAGE | | Frequency | Percent | Valid Percent | Cumulative Percent | Valid | 1 | 419328 | 88.2 | 88.2 | 88.2 | | 2 | 54801 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 99.7 | | 7 | 932 | .2 | .2 | 99.9 | | 9 | 624 | .1 | .1 | 100.0 | | Total | 475685 | 100.0 | 100.0 | | Missing | System | 2 | .0 | | | Total | 475687 | 100.0 | | | Why is this Important? The United States reportedly spent $2.6 Trillion on Healthcare in 2010. This is approximately $8,402 per individual. If the current health...
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...selected in microeconomic terms. The health care issue I have chosen is the uninsured Americans and the cost effect on the Unites States government. The issue of uninsured Americans has been one issue that keeps coming up from time to time because a large number of the society are losing their medical insurance due to loss of employments and pre-existing conditions that most insurance company don’t accept. Government and the hospital emergency rooms where those that are uninsured end up going are at the losing end on whole situation. I will try and use Cost Benefit Analysis to evaluate the cost of the uninsured on the Government purse. Cost benefit analysis is an important economical tool that can be used in the healthcare industry because it helps in determining what the outcome of a project would be. It looks at both the positive and the negative aspect of the program. It will also show the cost and consequence of being uninsured. According to Jack Hadley, the Principal Research Associate at The Urban Institute, uninsured Americans have cost the Federal government in the three following ways: The Government already spends a substantial amount of money on care to the uninsured According to (Jack Hadley, 2003) it is estimated that in 2001 that the nation spent about $35 billion on uncompensated care received by uninsured, both those who are uninsured for a full year and those who lack coverage for part of a year. It shows that about two-third...
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...Obamacare on the Economy Kimberly Carter Dr. Monjica-Howell MGT 5064: Cost and Economic Analysis 23 April 2013 Abstract In 2010, there were approximately 50 million uninsured Americans. In March 2010, President Obama signed into law a piece of legislation that reformed American’s healthcare industry. The legislation is coined as “Obamacare.” Supporters argue Obamacare provides coverage for our nation’s uninsured while boosting economy. Opponents argue Obamacare will increase healthcare costs and in turn, add to the deficit. The research supports the belief that improving the health status of the American citizens does result in economic expenditures for the United States. There is a relationship between affordable healthcare and the economy. The impact Obamacare has on the economy can be viewed through a simple math equation, a return on investment analysis. The return on investment analysis revealed a positive return on investment. The results suggest American has invested wisely. Investing in the healthcare of the American citizens will improve productivity, is cost effective, and reduces healthcare care costs. The Impact of Obamacare on the Economy In 2010, there were approximately 50 million uninsured Americans. This means that 16.9% of American’s population is uninsured. The numbers are overwhelming and reveal healthcare in American is not affordable. Many argue that the cost of healthcare has doubled in recent years (Department of Health and Human...
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...injury or, disease. Predictors used to determine a person’s vulnerability are race, age, education, and economic status. The population most vulnerable is the uninsured adult. The elderly and children is another group that is at a high risk of not having adequate health coverage as well. However, federally funded programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and, the Children’s Health Insurance Program insure the majority of the elderly and children. The age of the uninsured expands across the age spectrum. The ethnicity, age and gender of the average uninsured adult are the Hispanic male, 19 to 25 years of age. Minorities tend to make up the vast majority of the uninsured. Hispanics account for 32% of the uninsured in America. American Indians 30%, African Americans 22%, and Caucasians 14%, make up the remainder of the uninsured population (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2011). The average educational level is high school diploma or GED. The lack of higher education puts this group at risk for not being able to qualify for higher paying jobs that would give them the opportunity to afford health care coverage. The average income of the uninsured population is approximately $30,000 to $35,000 per year (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2011). In the uninsured population there are two additional groups. This group is the uninsured young adult who is not eligible for continued health coverage on their parents’ health plan and the older working adult who cannot afford health care premiums....
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...Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..13 References………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….14 Introduction Recent health care reform legislation, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Education Reconciliation Act, which is now being referred to simply as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. Since the 20th century, several United States presidents have faced challenges in passing national health reform into law. Before the ACA was enacted, national health reform proposals under different governments in the United States faced strong opposition from various stakeholders and multiple interest groups. Therefore, the enactment of the ACA is revolutionary healthcare reform in the history of the United States. Healthcare insurance is a program that assists in paying medical expenses through privately purchased insurance or social welfare programs. In other words, health insurance is a system that provides protection against health costs. This newly legislated healthcare reform offers health insurance for all Americans and legal residents in the United States. Furthermore, the law was enacted to control the constant increase of healthcare costs as well as improving the healthcare delivery system in the...
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...including Europe, the powerhouses of Asia, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The United States (U.S.) is not one of them. Funded through taxes and run by the government, health care proves vital to all countries across the world. Unlike other first world countries, the U.S. falls behind in attempts to providing a single-payer health system, a type of Universal Health Care. Health care affordability continue to drastically decrease for United States citizens, becoming less affordable due to its high costs. Other first world countries are able to provide their population with adequate amounts of medical attention without the high expenses like the current system...
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...One of the major issues in the state of Texas is uninsured statistics of health insurance for minorities. Texas is known to be the uninsured capital of the United States with more than 4.3 million Texans, including 600K plus children, that lack possession of health insurance. Texas uninsured rate is about 2 times the national average, which is 9.1%, making it to create significant problems in the funding and distribution of health care to the state of Texas. Those who do not have insurance coverage typically experience worse health status than insured groups because of the lack of medical attention. The uninsured in Texas is a very mixed group that includes people who can’t afford private health insurance, work in businesses that do not offer...
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...Immigration and Healthcare Cost Angela Mporampora Metropolitan State College of Denver Healthcare Finance HCM 4030 Professor kelvin D. Zeller March 25, 2012 Immigration and healthcare cost Abstract. The rise in healthcare cost has been one of the most troubling economic events in recent years. Healthcare cost rises about 7.5 percent every year. The United States is known to be the nation with the highest amount spent on healthcare. Some research links immigrants to the fast paste in healthcare cost increase. Immigration became a top issue after the event of September 11th. Many believes immigration is the root cause of most of the economic problems taking place in the country today, they linked immigration to increase in healthcare cost, increase in crime rate, reason for low productivity, reason for loss of job opportunity for native- born and many more. But on the other hand, are these groups of individuals who believe immigrants are being used as “scapegoats” just because they don’t have a voice or stand in the society. They stressed the believe that even before immigration became a hot topic, the economy already had this problem in place, they denoted most research findings stating data were manipulated to support their mission; for immigrant do not visit medical establishment as often as indigenes and wonder how researchers came to the conclusion that immigrants spiked up healthcare cost. This subject is distinctly two sides and it’s difficult to find...
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