Alarming Trends about American Health Insurance Coverage

2007-03-08 10:33:40

( Health )



Do you know that approximately one-third of the American population under the age of 65 does not have health insurance coverage? This translates to more than eighty million Americans and the figure for uninsured persons continue to rise as much as twenty percent annually.

What's disturbing is that more Americans would rather pay for car insurance coverage or motorcycle insurance coverage than for health insurance coverage, unless assisted by their employers under a group health plan.

Causes for Non-Insurance

Unlike in previous decades, being employed in America no longer guarantees that you could acquire health insurance. The larger firms continue to downsize due to outsourcing or other economic reasons, and this means loss of jobs for many workers and consequently, loss of health insurance coverage.

Some firms have also shifted their hiring priorities - from regular full-timers to part-timers and contractuals - to save on employee benefit expenses like health insurance.

As employees lose jobs, they often don't avail of COBRA or continuation of group coverage. Only about less than ten percent of unemployed people will continue to pay the premiums because the amounts will generally eat up almost all of their unemployment benefit checks.

Small firms are all the more at a loss to cover for workers' health insurance, due to the steeply rising costs of coverage. Over the past years, the rise in health insurance premiums has tripled that of the annual inflation rates, making it more and more difficult for firms to their employees' health care coverage.

More and more Americans are opting for self-employment or home-based jobs, often downplaying the importance of securing health insurance coverage for themselves and their families.

What are the Risks?

Lack or loss of health care coverage will compromise your health and well-being. Without preventive care like immunizations and routine check-ups, you are more prone to serious illnesses that could have been prevented.

If you're uninsured, you will need to pay larger fees up front before availing of any medical service. If you're unable to do so, you may risk being turned away except in emergency situations. Serious disability or even death can result from not being able to receive timely and adequate medical care.

The United States has spent billions of dollars to treat illnesses that could otherwise have been avoided and treated more efficiently with earlier diagnosis. It would have been cheaper to pay for the cost of a routine check-up visit at an outpatient clinic than that of a life-threatening condition at the emergency room.

In the long run, this will contribute to loss of productivity and ever-increasing costs of the American health care system.


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