Unfair Distribution of Health Services in the United States - Essay Example

Uninsured and Underinsured Thesis ment: Expanding the existing governmental healthcare insurance is the solution for the vexing problem of the uninsured and the underinsured. Knowledge: The most significant concern in the inequitable distribution of healthcare services in the United States of America is the growing number of uninsured and underinsured citizens that leads to deprival of these essential services. Statistics demonstrate that there are approximately 45 million people in the United States, who lack any type of health insurance. However, this number does not take into account the number of people in the country, who actually do not have enough insurance to afford the rising cost of health care. Addition of the number of citizens with insufficient insurance to cover full range of medical intervention strategies to those without insurance, cause the figure of those affected by insurance issues to exceed 102 million (Scribe Media, 2007). This problem is exacerbated in the country due to the dependence of many of the people on their employers to provide adequate health coverage. The increasing health costs have witnessed a rise in the health insurance premiums for employers to provide this adequate coverage. As a result, many of the employers in attempting to protect their profitability have cut back on the coverage that they provide their employees. Thus many of the employees find themselves in a situation, where they have to pay from their pockets for adequate coverage, but cannot afford it. This has led to the increase in the number of underinsured individuals in the country. In addition to this comes statistical evidence that the number of companies providing employee health insurance has dropped from 69% to 61%, which means that the problem of health care coverage due to uninsured and underinsured citizens is aggravated (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2007). Comprehension: The issue of uninsured and underinsured Americans does loom large merely on the statistical figures. The true situation turns out to be even more alarming, when the issue is translated into actual real-life terms. The reality picture is that 54% of the children without access to healthcare coverage are not provided with any form of wellness evaluations by pediatricians. In addition 31% of these children have not seen a physician in the past year. In other words a large proportion of the children of the country are deprived of any form of medical care, and this is the reality of the lack of adequate healthcare insurance. Thus lack of adequate healthcare transcends not having best access to healthcare coverage to not receiving medical care at all. This is an alarming situation, as children require regular doctor visits for immunization and checkups, so that health problems could be identified, and acted upon before they become life altering, or even life threatening (Owcharenko, 2007). The gravity of the situation of inadequate healthcare coverage becomes more real, when it is understood that it is just not the unemployed, or those in the poorest segments of the economy that reel under its impact. Children and adults who have inadequate healthcare coverage also hail from the middle class and upper middle class segments of society. This is an expression of the fact that 68% of the families with at least one full-time worker in the family still have children without adequate healthcare insurance coverage. The cause for this is the reduction in healthcare insurance cover being provided by the private sector (Gould, 2006). This reduced private sector insurance cover for its employees, coupled with the prohibitive cost of health insurance results in a majority of the American citizens doing without adequate healthcare insurance, and relying on hope and prayer that no member of the family falls sick (Pear, 2007). Application: Theoretically this issue of inadequate healthcare could be addressed by families acquiring government subsidized health insurance, especially for the higher health risk segments of the elderly and children. This stems from the theory that government should provide assistance to those with the highest need for health insurance, but cannot afford it. There is a vast difference between theory and practice, as this real-life example demonstrates. My brother and his wife face the challenge of not being in a position to healthcare insurance coverage for their children, even though their combined annual income is $47,000, which makes them a middle class family. They are both employed full time. They work for employers that provide health insurance coverage for the employees, but not for their families, and this means that their two children are outside the health insurance coverage that they have. Their combine annual income exceeds the limits for government subsidized healthcare insurance programs, which have been put in place to assist the needy. The heavy private health insurance premiums are beyond their means, and so they are unable to provide their children with healthcare insurance coverage. They are forced to rely on hope and prayer to see that their children do not fall ill, or land up in accidents, which is hardly an inspiring situation. Analysis: Many crucial issues are involved in the creation of this situation of millions of Americans being without adequate health insurance cover. Among these issues is the manner in which government subsidized programs were created. These programs like Medicaid were created originally, as a means for the poorest in America to have access to some level of health insurance coverage. The changing nature of the costs of healthcare in the country, and the reduced spending on insurance coverage for their employees by private companies, has led to a situation where not just the poorest segments of society, but also other segments of society do not have adequate health insurance coverage for them and their families. This has seen middle class and upper middle class segments of society, who were once believed to be well looked after by employer provided health insurance coverage, finding themselves without adequate health insurance cover. However, the government sponsored health insurance programs have not kept up with these changing times, so that these segments of society remain outside the purview of these programs (AFL-CIO, 2007). The major contributory factor to the issue of inadequate healthcare insurance coverage for the people stems from the rising costs of healthcare, which has resulted in private companies offering lesser insurance benefits to their employees to control costs. There is a cyclic argument for the issue of the uninsured and underinsured. Escalating healthcare costs result in the lack of healthcare insurance coverage, and the lack of healthcare insurance leads coverage further push up healthcare costs, making it even more unaffordable. However, the issue of the insured and the uninsured boils down to money or the lack of it (Hacker, 2007). Synthesis: There are a number of proposed solutions that the debate on healthcare insurance cover in the country has thrown up. Among these several proposed solutions is a solution that stands out, but is overlooked. This solution proposes the utilization of the existing governmental programs, by making them easier to understand, and easier to access. The Federal and State Governments have a number of subsidized healthcare coverage programs. Though these programs were developed with the best intentions, the paper work involved and the time consumed in meeting the perplexing requirements make many potential recipients of these benefits fight shy of them. Reducing the perplexing paper work and reducing the restrictions are the requirements to make these programs really useful (Vettese, 2007). An additional means for addressing the vexing issue of the uninsured and the underinsured through the existing, through the existing governmental programs, is to expand these programs. Programs like the Medicaid and the State health insurance programs for children and the poor in essence do a fine job in catering to the healthcare insurance needs these segments of society. Yet, they cater to only this small segment, while the larger segment of needy society like the working middle class lies outside its ambit. Expanding these programs to cater the working middle class without the economic means to private healthcare insurance will reduce the number of uninsured and underinsured (Vettese 2007). Evaluation: Expansion of the governmental healthcare programs to the uninsured does bring about a reduction in the number of citizens without insurance cover. This fact is borne out by figures that have come in from areas into which the states have expanded these programs to cater to coverage to those in the lower income levels. These figures have demonstrated a steep drop in the uninsured from 22.3% to 14.9%. This shows that existing governmental programs could assist in alleviating the vexing problem of the uninsured and the underinsured through expansion and making it easier to access (The Commonwealth Fund, 2007). The argument against expanding these existing Federal and State programs is based on the associated cost implications, with particular emphasis on the states. The argument runs on the lines that billions of dollars would be required by expanding these programs, and in a sluggish economy the States can ill afford this additional financial burden (Holohan, Nichols & Blumberg, 2006). This argument has blinkers, and sees only the cost aspects, but fails to vision the benefits that would accrue from having healthier citizens. Mortality and morbidity through diseases and conditions have a large negative impact on the productivity of the working class. A healthy working class augurs well for any nation, and the billions spent on expanding the governmental health insurance programs will come back through increased productivity of the working class. A price has to be paid, and it is better to pay now and reap the benefits latter. Ethical Issues: The ethical issue involved in the insured and the uninsured in the country is about the equitable distribution of healthcare services to ensure that all the citizens rich or poor are provided with adequate medical care and treatment, based on their health status needs. The medical profession in its duty to society is supposed to ensure the wellness of all the individual members that constitute the fabric of the nation. This comes above all other considerations. There is no room here for consideration of costs involved and the ability to pay. However in reality the medical profession has forgotten this ethic it is bound to, and ensures the ability to pay by the citizens of the nation, before it flexes a muscle in the care of these citizens. Is the medical profession the only ones that need to be concerned about the wellness of the citizens of the nation? The answer is no. There is need for the Federal and State authorities also to be concerned. Piece meal provision of this concern to meet the needs of only the extremely poor segments of society does not demonstrate this concern for all the needy citizens of the country. Expansion of the governmental insurance coverage to meet the adequate healthcare insurance coverage of all the needy including the working class is the need of the hour to ensure the wellness of all the citizens, as required by the ethic of equitable distribution of healthcare services to all the citizens of the country. The very nature of health care delivery in the nation would get altered for the better by expanding the existing governmental healthcare insurance programs. The focus would shift from cost implications to the more significant ethic of wellness for all the citizens of the nation. Therefore it is the expanding of the existing governmental healthcare insurance programs that is a solution for the vexing problem of the insured and uninsured in the country. Literary References AFL-CIO. (2007). What’s Wrong with American’s Health Care? Retrieved March 30, 2007, from Web site: http://www.aflcio.org/issues/healthcare/whatswrong/. Commonwealth Fund. (2006). The State Children’s Health Insurance Program: Past, Present and Future. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from Web site: http://www.cmwf.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=449518. Gould, E. (2007). More Children are Uninsured. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from Web site: http://www.epi.org/content.cfm?id=2501. Hacker, J. S. (2007). A Healthy Health Care Debate. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from Web site: http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/03/26/a_healthy_health_care_debate.php. Holahan, J., Nichols, L. & Blumberg, L. J. (2006). Expanding Health Insurance Coverage. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from Web site: http://www.urban.org/publications/1000224.html. Kaiser Family Foundation. (2007). Insurance Premium Cost-Sharing and Coverage Take- Up. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from Web site: http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/chcm020707oth.cfm. Owcharenko, N. (2007). Health Insurance for Uninsured Children: Doing Health Care Right. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from Web site: http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/hl997.cfm. Pear, R. (2007). Without Health Benefits, A Good Life Turns Fragile. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from Web site: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/05/us/05uninsured.html?ex=1175400000&en=afb0bf15d79d399a&ei=5070 . Scribe Media. (2007). America’s Healthcare Crisis: An Interview with Gerald Balcar. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from Web site: http://health.scribemedia.org/2007/01. Vettese, J. (2007). Speak Out: Should Pennsylvania Provide Universal Healthcare to its Residents? Retrieved March 30, 2007, from Web site: http://student-voices.org/news/index.php?NewsID. Read More