The Truth About American Health Insurance
Health insurance—we’re hearing a lot about it lately. If you have it—good, honorable insurance that covers everything you need—you don’t even mediate about insurance. Your employer has already done the legwork for you. But if you don’t have insurance, if you’re one of the 47 million Americans who have lost their insurance because of layoffs, or pre-existing conditions, or self-employment, the subject of insurance looms sizable.
The truth about American Health Insurance is that it is now a luxury item. Though arguments abound as to whether it’s a ‘right’ or a ‘responsibility,’ the truth is that insurance coverage in our country hangs by a thread. The cost of premiums and copayments have increased so worthy that only astronomical corporations or government entities can ‘negotiate’ in order to pick up the best prices. And their covered employees are so titanic a group that the risk is spread over a grand number of age groups and health situations.
We are often told that puny business is the engine for job creation in our country, and has been for decades. Yet, cramped businesses are the most vulnerable to the prohibitive costs of health insurance. Often, a business is started with unprejudiced one person—or perhaps with one person, his or her spouse, or partner. That can qualify as a ‘group’ for insurance, but if one of those people has a serious, previously-diagnosed condition, it will bump their ‘group’ into a considerably higher premium level. Often the self-employed go without insurance, hoping to insert it into the business budget later, but higher health insurance premium costs can outstrip profit gains, so that it never does quite fit into the budget. And they continue to go without insurance.
On an industry forum I subscribe to, I recently read agonized comments and requests for advice about health insurance. If you assume itsy-bitsy business is doing pretty with the modern system, you are terribly incorrect. Foremost in the minds of those with runt, fledgling businesses is the health insurance coverage for the owner and his or her family. Often, this cost so taxes the profit margin that the only choice left to maintain the itsy-bitsy business is to tumble coverage for employees altogether, That invariably affects the quality of employees a business can attract. It then becomes a vicious circle—the business can’t pick up the employees it needs, or can’t keep them for long—which then affects the productivity of the business—which then affects the bottom line of the business—which then makes it even more impossible to afford the health insurance coverage it needs to attract long-term employees.
The ‘pre-existing condition’ is also a scrape that is aloof with us, and may even be so narrowly defined as ‘previous surgery’ or past mental health condition. If you try to shop around for health insurance, hoping to come by a better effect, you may accept your condition under an ‘exclusion’ for a number of years. So in do, you won’t be covered for that which you most need coverage to commence with!
Other problems wound our health care coverage, such as increasing deductibles and copayments, that drive ordinary, hard-working and insurance-covered individuals into bankruptcy court—and ‘non-covered procedures’ that have the families of desperately-ill individuals on the phone with insurance companies and lisp resolution boards when they should be attending to the patient himself.
We are often told that we have ‘the best health care system in the world,’ and it is—for those who are included fully in it. For others, the struggle to rupture into that ‘best system in the world’—or to manufacture that system work for them—is a daily, monthly, or quarterly battle. And the number of those who are not included in that system grows daily. There are those who also exclaim us that it would be too expensive to mask all Americans in a national healthcare conception. Yet other countries earn a ways to do it. And our government spends hundreds of billions on other projects of dubious necessity.
We should all be aware that our unusual system of healthcare is failing too many Americans, and will continue to fail even more in the future. It is affecting our productivity as a nation, and our savings rate as a population. It is affecting our future—slowly, inexorably—and there may near a time when we are ‘forced’ to something drastic. It would surely be better if we made the change to a modern system thoughtfully and systematically, instead of under the threat of health insurance collapse. These are the choices we have. Let us hope we have the courage and creativity to tackle the quandary. Those qualities are, after all, our strengths as Americans.
Health insurance—we’re hearing a lot about it lately. If you have it—good, noble insurance that covers everything you need—you don’t even deem about insurance. Your employer has already done the legwork for you. But if you don’t have insurance, if you’re one of the 47 million Americans who have lost their insurance because of layoffs, or pre-existing conditions, or self-employment, the subject of insurance looms tremendous.
The truth about American Health Insurance is that it is now a luxury item. Though arguments abound as to whether it’s a ‘right’ or a ‘responsibility,’ the truth is that insurance coverage in our country hangs by a thread. The cost of premiums and copayments have increased so powerful that only tremendous corporations or government entities can ‘negotiate’ in order to accumulate the best prices. And their covered employees are so tall a group that the risk is spread over a spacious number of age groups and health situations.
We are often told that minute business is the engine for job creation in our country, and has been for decades. Yet, itsy-bitsy businesses are the most vulnerable to the prohibitive costs of health insurance. Often, a business is started with unprejudiced one person—or perhaps with one person, his or her spouse, or partner. That can qualify as a ‘group’ for insurance, but if one of those people has a serious, previously-diagnosed condition, it will bump their ‘group’ into a considerably higher premium level. Often the self-employed go without insurance, hoping to insert it into the business budget later, but higher health insurance premium costs can outstrip profit gains, so that it never does quite fit into the budget. And they continue to go without insurance.
On an industry forum I subscribe to, I recently read agonized comments and requests for advice about health insurance. If you deem shrimp business is doing dazzling with the modern system, you are terribly wrong. Foremost in the minds of those with diminutive, fledgling businesses is the health insurance coverage for the owner and his or her family. Often, this cost so taxes the profit margin that the only choice left to support the dinky business is to descend coverage for employees altogether, That invariably affects the quality of employees a business can attract. It then becomes a vicious circle—the business can’t salvage the employees it needs, or can’t hold them for long—which then affects the productivity of the business—which then affects the bottom line of the business—which then makes it even more impossible to afford the health insurance coverage it needs to attract long-term employees.
The ‘pre-existing condition’ is also a pickle that is unruffled with us, and may even be so narrowly defined as ‘previous surgery’ or past mental health condition. If you try to shop around for health insurance, hoping to obtain a better designate, you may rep your condition under an ‘exclusion’ for a number of years. So in carry out, you won’t be covered for that which you most need coverage to initiate with!
Other problems distress our health care coverage, such as increasing deductibles and copayments, that drive ordinary, hard-working and insurance-covered individuals into bankruptcy court—and ‘non-covered procedures’ that have the families of desperately-ill individuals on the phone with insurance companies and advise resolution boards when they should be attending to the patient himself.
We are often told that we have ‘the best health care system in the world,’ and it is—for those who are included fully in it. For others, the struggle to rupture into that ‘best system in the world’—or to effect that system work for them—is a daily, monthly, or quarterly battle. And the number of those who are not included in that system grows daily. There are those who also notify us that it would be too expensive to camouflage all Americans in a national healthcare opinion. Yet other countries gain a ways to do it. And our government spends hundreds of billions on other projects of dubious necessity.
We should all be aware that our recent system of healthcare is failing too many Americans, and will continue to fail even more in the future. It is affecting our productivity as a nation, and our savings rate as a population. It is affecting our future—slowly, inexorably—and there may near a time when we are ‘forced’ to something drastic. It would surely be better if we made the change to a recent system thoughtfully and systematically, instead of under the threat of health insurance collapse. These are the choices we have. Let us hope we have the courage and creativity to tackle the jam. Those qualities are, after all, our strengths as Americans.
