Can People Really Afford Health Insurance?

Can People Really Afford Health Insurance?

Health Insurance is one of the nations top problem, the cost is rising for premiums, and many businesses just can not afford it. As American's many of us have the luxury of health insurance, but far too many of us have to go without it. This is something that always seems to brought up as a huge issue at congressional debates, but little is done about it. "In 2002 there were 41 million people reported with out health insurance coverage, this is too many considering those people probably were sick at some point through out the year, and they couldn't afford treatment." We need to find someway to make sure that every citizen of the United States is able to have affordable healthcare for themselves, and their families.

Most people rely on their employers to provide them with health insurance, but with many health care is not available through the employers. Many small businesses can simply not afford the high cost of health care, or it may be available, but the employee needs to pay the entire premiums. A lot of employers are utilizing part time employees, the part time employees are usually not qualified for benefits, like health insurance. This is very unfortunate for these part timer's not only because they will not get benefits such as health insurance, but also they probably have a slim chance of going full time because of the health insurance dilemma. Business owner's need to assess what is good for them financially, and having plenty of part time employees who do not require insurance is probably the most cost effective method to keep the Business up and running.

An option for folks who have no money is Medicaid. Medicaid is designed for the very poor people. Unfortunately you must meet Medicaid guidelines in order to be eligible for it. "In order to be eligible you must make below the poverty level that the government allows, this is about $1,497 a month for a single person, also if you are a child who is under 19, if you are pregnant, if you are out of work for a long time, or if you are HIV positive, you may be eligible to apply." These guidelines alone generally rule out many of Americans. "The U.S. Census reported young adults (18-to-24 years old) remained the least likely of any age group to have health insurance in 2001." More than 28% of this group does not have coverage. These are the college age students that are making too much money for Medicaid, and their employers are not supplying the insurance.

Another type of insurance is Medicare. Medicare is provided by the Government, and usually while you are working it is taken out of your paycheck. Medicare allows people who are over the age of 65, and some people with disabilities get a limited amount of coverage. There are two parts of Medicare, Medicare part B, and Medicare part A. Medicare part A allows for hospital costs such as, hospital stays, skilled nursing care, and hospice care. If you have to pay for Medicare A it is about $400 a month, plus you need to meet a $876 deductible per benefit period. Medicare B usually requires a monthly premium of $66, and it covers part of the doctor's fee. Under Medicare there is no prescription drug program, so seniors must pay the retail cost of there medications, also Medicare part B only covers a very limited amount of the doctor's fee, so the insurance must pay any remaining balances, which can be a lot.

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