Health insurance continues to stir controversy in the world’s top problems. The primary reason for the controversy is the high cost of insurance premiums and the economic recession, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic period (Vaida, 1). Although medical contingencies can strain the financial base of individuals, empirical research studies from health-related databases have asserted that health insurance should not be mandatory. Firstly, the inflated costs of paying the insurance premiums have an adverse impact on people’s financial stability. Secondly, health insurance doesn’t cover the entire medical costs such as chronic disease care, so a more comprehensive health benefits package will aid in better health outcomes. Thirdly, there is no correlation between health insurance and mortality or an individual’s health status. There is a strong defense for mandatory health insurance, but the costs outweigh the benefits for reasons like high costs, care for terminally ill patients, and conflicting analysis on health insurance.
Health insurance is extremely expensive especially for unemployed youths and low-income earners. Approximately 45% of the Uninsured Americans asserted that the high cost of insurance premiums has led to the withdrawal from health insurance (Young, 1). For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic and economic shutdown, millions of citizens lost their income-generating jobs, which reduced their ability to meet basic needs and pay insurance premiums. Therefore, lack of sustainable jobs or investment opportunities hinders an individuals’ ability to pay for the inflated insurance costs. Arguably, there are numerous cost-efficient programs to cater for medical care such as the cost-sharing programs which encompass fair charges like copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles. The alternative healthcare plans offer more comprehensive and flexible payment plans that suit individuals with low-incomes.
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Chronic illnesses have constantly resulted to adverse health impacts and widened the health insurance gap among global populations. There is a growing dilemma and frustration among citizens who paid for health coverage but cannot access medical due to the high costs of terminally ill diseases (Young, 3) For instance, a patient diagnosed with Cancer may require weekly radiotherapy or chemotherapy sessions to treat their conditions, but the medical expenses may exceed the insurance coverage. Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) suggests that all American citizens are entitled to expansive healthcare, health insurance is delimited on the quality of care and extent of coverage it offers (Clemmitt, 3). Some patients may be forced to wait in long queues for their treatment because the insurance package is limited to certain healthcare providers. Therefore, some insured patients are left in distress after depleting their health coverage limits and may be forced to conduct medical appeals or fundraisers to meet the accumulated health costs. Such health insurance issues expose middle-income earners to ideological challenges that relate to medical coverage decisions.
There is no correlation between healthcare coverage and the individual’s health status or mortality rates. Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, the number of uninsured citizens has risen from 10.7% to 13.3 % indicating the insurance gap with the health insurance services (Vaida, 5). For instance, people still have access to comprehensive health benefits from the government’s initiative for affordable medical care. Therefore, the disruptive and expensive health premiums or deductibles are not as important for low-income earners. The population can still access and utilize the healthcare services offered, thus they may not be at risk of poor clinical outcomes or high mortality to inaccessible healthcare. Similarly, the federal health policies have diversified the approaches to equitable medical care, which surpasses the limited privileges that accrue from high insurance premiums. The policies have also resulted to improved health infrastructure in most health institutions, such that everyone may utilize the services without discrimination or biases. Therefore, the entire population is assured of future medical security despite their economic status or academic influences, thus the life expectancy of the entire population is increased and the mortality rates are significantly reduced.
Health insurance is an integral aspect of healthcare management and future clinical planning. The actual family or individual spending on healthcare may result in financial strains and economic instability in the governments’ resources (Young 9). For example, health insurance allows an ailing patient to receive treatment and medications on affordable or free terms if their insurance is still valid. It is an off-exchange plan for the insured against medical emergencies with may require heavy investment but they are not able to meet the costs, so the insurer meets their medical expenses. Originally, lack of health insurance may result in a 2.5% tax penalty on the individual’s income or expensive medical costs; however, after the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the consumer debt for health insurance was removed (Vaida, 6). Health insurance offers numerous benefits to the insured such as hospitalization or daycare coverage, domiciliary expenses, and ambulatory care plans; which result in better health outcomes for the insured. However, I believe the expansive costs associated with health insurance have reduced the number of medically insured citizens, especially during the recessive period experienced at the Covid-19 outbreak.
The defense arguments against Healthcare insurance in society include; high costs, lack of coverage for terminally ill patients, and mismatch between health insurance and mortality rates. The inflated insurance premiums and high costs of living in the recent past have adversely affected people’s ability to secure health insurance. Coupled with the huge disconnect between health insurance and an individual’s health care status, people have opted to seek alternative approaches for their healthcare investments other than the health insurance policies. Similarly, once the health coverage exceeds the set limits, individuals or households may be forced to seek alternative sources of finances to meet their medical expenses. Such reasons invalidate the dire need for health insurance among the global populations. Moreover, the prevailing federal legislation in healthcare has positively enhanced the utilization and access to healthcare services among the American society. Therefore, the millions of citizens anticipate healthy future and disease-free clinical outcomes, despite their withdrawal from health insurance coverage. Ultimately, the resultant impact is financial stability of households and a keen focus on personal development or economic growth away from the disruptive insurance premiums.