Need for Health Insurance For All
Americans
By: Jason Cunningham (05/12/2005)
A basic right that every American
should have is adequate health insurance. At this present moment there are
approximately 60 million US citizens who are without insurance. It is increasing
alarming that in the land of plenty that even going to the doctor may lead to
financial ruin.
Not everyone is a self-motivated
entrepreneur. Others even if they are self-employed may not qualify for
individual health insurance due to a medical illness or condition. However most
of us work for someone else, and may depend on healthcare coverage for ourselves
or other members of our family. Therefore we are familiar with group health
insurance, which covers eligible individuals of a company , and cannot reject
anyone during the enrollment period based on their health.
There are some other issues facing
Americans when it comes to health insurance. When people
retire early they find themselves without medical coverage.
You are not quite old enough for Medicare. Essentially you
have four options: Individual health insurance, health
saving accounts, short term health insurance, or cobra
insurance. If you and your family are healthy, then
paying for a permanent plan may be a reasonable option. Let
us assume you might work again, in this case you could
benefit from short health insurance for six months, and use
cobra for up to eighteen, thereafter if you so choose. Also,
health saving accounts have been touted by the Bush
Administration. There are two components to this plan
including a high deductible health insurance, and the actual
plan health savings account. If you are unhealthy and know
you will burn a hole in your pocket, often your state can
offer you some type of coverage if you meet their criterion.
There has to be a solution to the ever
rising cost of healthcare, which some companies cite as the
reason they no longer offer health insurance to current or
retired workers. It is a vicious cycle where those who fail
to get good healthcare generally end up with compounded
health problems over time. While it may not seem feasible
over the next decade we are going to have to reconsider a
national health insurance plan. Maybe that could be the
piece to help fill in the Social Security gap. If you are
sick as child you may not be in the correct mind frame for
learning. We need more productive citizens to contribute
into the land, therefore the need for better healthcare is
extremely critical in areas where industrial and service
productivity is low.
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