Income Populations Needs Improvements - Essay Example

Medical Care For Low- Income Populations Needs Improvements Introduction Medical care presents itself as one of the most vital services every human being should have access to. Many countries in the world spent billions of money in a bid to see how the health care system in their country can improve. Individuals themselves also have a responsibility to ensure that they get the best health care services available. However, this has proved challenging due to the level of income to each individual. The difference in income levels divides a nation into categories or social classes. In a country, you find there are the low, middle, and high-income earners. These groups do not access equal levels of services. On the side of the medical care services, the high-class earners do have the best access to the best services than any other class. The government of the United States has tried to improve the health care system as much as possible, and make sure that every citizen in the United States gets the best medical care possible no matter their income. The government has majorly called for the private sector to offer affordable and quality medical services to every individual in the country so that there is equity in the distribution of the service. Policies governing the medical care system have received several amendments with a view to ensuring that every citizen gets the same access to quality health services. How medical care works in the United States United States belongs to the class of the most industrialized nations in the world. Therefore, it is the expectation of every other individual in any other nation that the people of the United States must receive the best medical care possible. United States spends more cash in the health care sector with the aim of upgrading the system, but still shortcomings prevail (Gruber 15) Statistically, USA has the biggest budget in the world on health care sector and this is not expected to shoot down but up in the coming years, due to the increased challenge in medical care because of industrialization and technological advancement. Health care in USA remains to be a nightmare to many to date, as they cannot have the quality medical care they need. The graph below is an overview of the spending rate of different nations compared to that of the United States. The private sector in the United States has a great share of the health care equipment and operates them for he benefit of their customers (Gruber 15). This leaves the government with the challenge of healthcare provision to the rest of the population unable to afford in the private sector. The other challenge storms in due to lack of specialized treatment equipment for patients diagnosed with critical issues. This explains simply why United States experiences high infant mortality rate compared to other industrialized countries in the globe. The government provides insurance cover only for the public workers and the rest have to insure themselves on their own. A high percentage of Americas spending comes from the health care programs provided to different classes of people. The programs which include Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Veterans Health Administration only cover a certain proportion of the services provided, notably 60% ( Gruber 16). The inability of many Americans to insure themselves exerts a lot of burden to their relatives who have to insure them instead. The family member in employment has to insure the other members through the employer and this creates burden to the employed individual. Those who have no relatives to insure them and cannot have the insurance on their own remain uninsured. The life expectancy in us is very low due to the increasing problem of health care. The low-income earners in the United States face it rough in the health care system. They have to distinguish first whether they will get the basic needs, which include food, shelter, and clothing, or they will insure themselves. The wages received by these individuals cannot guarantee them to get their basic needs and at the same time insure themselves. This means many of them remain uninsured just because it is not their wish but due to the low income they earn. Medicaid, which is the body charged with the responsibility of providing health care services to these low income earners, face many challenges as the number of the low wage people increases gradually (Gruber 14). The resources available to the Medicaid officers remain few yet those who need their services are many. This creates a sense of insecurity to the people for many of them think that they fall in the category of the endangered species. As at 2010, the number of the uninsured individuals had risen so much as explained by the graph below, http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/11/01/1122761/obamacare-low-wage-workers/?mobile=nc The graph simply explains why most of the population in the United States lives in danger. The government of U.S has to take strict measures as quickly as possible, to get rid of this situation as these people also form part of the country’s population, and they have the same rights to life as every other citizen in the country. The system of health care has received so many critics on how it has gone about with the issue so far since even after spending so much on health care the nation still lags behind in the same. Medicaid financed by the state through revenue collected has faced many challenges in admission of their duties, as the funds they get do not surface their needs fully. Reluctance in tax paying occurs because; many of the taxpayers think that they pay the taxes and other individuals use their money instead of them. The low-income groups comprise of the women and children, disabled or elderly (Gruber 16) This group comprises those individuals who cannot majorly do hard work or cannot work for long hours to earn their living. This means the little they do can only give them enough to cater for their basic needs only. Existing medical insurance for low-income people The medical cover extended to the low-income people does not satisfy them fully as the cover offered to the other classes of people. The insurance cover in the US does not favor those who cannot afford, as it is voluntary. Therefore, those who cannot afford to pay the premiums opt to stay without the insurance cover. The employer does not pay premiums for them either because most of them work part time. The low-income earners however feel comfortable with their lifestyle without the cover and therefore many of them do not struggle so much to acquire it. The knowledge of many of them that the premiums they pay do not benefit them but other people also make many not long for the insurance cover. Several reforms are in place to ensure that all the citizens get insurance cover no matter their income, and through this; the government will save the lives of many (Gruber 15). Many of the deaths in United States mainly occur because of the environment surrounding the people. America being a developed nation and an industrialized nation, the complications brought about by the heavy industrial processes become a bother in handling. Thus, the insurance system existing now for the low-income earners is not favorable. What need to improve in medical care for low income people? Research has revealed that when the low-income people get a medical insurance cover and a medical home, they have a normal life just as the other high-income earning people. This enables them to have the same access to medical care services as the highest paid workers. The Affordable Care Act when well acted upon will increase access to coverage of health insurance and enhance integration and extension of health care services plus a medical home. The Affordable Care Act formulated the following steps in their bid to improve insurance health care to the low- income people, a. Extension of coverage to young adults- The health care reforms which when enacted and well acted upon will bring a great change to the young generation have already been set. These policies will ensure that those young adults between the ages of 15-26 should join or remain under the cover of their parents’ policies. This is the group with the highest rate of uninsurance cover and the move will see greater improvements in the health care system achieved as will significantly lower the number of the uninsured to a negligible one. The move already is paying off as many of the youths aged between 19-25 gained their insurance coverage from the time of enacting the law up to now. This is a motivation to many youths and they will feel secure and less exposed to risks just as any other high earning citizen would feel. b. Expansion of medical eligibility- The Act aims to offer medical eligibility to almost all the people under the age of 65 who fall in the category of low class earners. This move will see a great proportion of the uninsured population within the 65-age bracket get an insurance cover. Medicaid will have covered most of them by 2020 and this is great. c. Creation of Health Insurance Exchanges- Individuals and businesses in a country should have access to affordable and subsidized health insurance plans. The establishment of health insurance exchange, which is a requirement, facilitates all these plans. Many of the people who could not afford the premiums before will now have the chance to have them. This owes its realization to 2020. Tax credit is the other method to use. These tax credits will help to lower the cost of premiums to make them affordable. The low-income people ad the medium income earners will enjoy the tax credit services. This measure encourages leveling or making the people of the country equal and important. d. Establishment of individual mandate- This is a requirement that every citizen should have an insurance cover. It is expected that by the start of 2014 every individual in the US to have taken an insurance cover. Biennial Health Insurance carried out a survey and found that medical homes can serve a better purpose to eliminate uninsurance behavior in the US. The research found out that when a family had a team of medical experts to attend to them, they have a better chance of living longer and healthier unlike when is given the boarder insurance coverage. Preventive cure can function quite well also under the same circumstances and so much saving realized at the end. e. State Children’s Health Insurance Program- The program is cheap and is meant to cover children up to the age of 19. It is a plan that provides cover to children of families who earn enough to afford Medicaid but cannot take health insurance cover in the private sector. Every country operates in its unique way and therefore it is the one, which knows which policy will suit it better, where, and when should it be applied. ( Gruber 14). The program entails thorough routine check ups by the doctor as is always available to ensure that the concerned individuals stay healthy throughout. The other sides costs associated with this program do not affect its operation since it is affordable after all. The move, expected to benefit so many will ensure the sharing of costs will make them feel no much pinch at all and hence embrace the idea to the maximum. However, there may be a few challenges experienced by the Act in ensuring that all the citizens for the betterment of their future fully implement the above policies in the country. All the same, efforts put have ensured that the programs will succeed and improve health care in the country in the coming years. It also calls for the individuals themselves to adhere to the set guidelines and regulations so that the administering of the programs becomes a bit easier and cheaper and has no any negative implications to anyone at any given time. What the Government needs to do to improve Medical Care The government of US has done so much to see that the health care system in the country improves to the require standards of a nation like the United States. First, it has invested so much in the medical care system yet the system is poor. (Gruber 12). The government needs not to only allocate money but also follow up to see how the money allocation conforms to use. If the government allocates money to buy drugs for example, it is its duty to follow up and make sure that the drugs purchased are as agreed. It has also to confirm on the quantity and quality of the drugs and ensure that they are according to the agreement or set standards. The government should visit various health care centers in the country to monitor their performance and the level of quality of the services they offer. This will also help the government to identify the needs of the people in the area since they will see what the people lack in order for their lives to remain healthy for as long as they live. The government should ensure that the level of expertise in the country is enough to satisfy the needs of the people. This may come through the government ensuring that education is affordable and accessible to all and majorly in the medical practitioner sector. The more the country will have many graduates in the medical field, the more the challenges of dealing with the disaster diminish. This is because many will have knowledge of what it needs for one to remain healthy and maintain that status for a long time. Those old enough who cannot go to school will benefit from their children or grandchildren who can explain to them the importance of one being healthy and the means of maintaining the healthy status. Sensitization programs will also ensure very many people have the knowledge to know how to maintain health standards. The programs will help the people to know about the risks and challenges associated with unhealthy living, especially when one has no insurance cover. The high child rate of mortality in the US and the high number of deaths reported in the country will have reduced and the image of the nation in terms of the health sector will change. Lastly but not the least, the government has to ensure that the laid down policies are adhered to by all the citizens. This ensures easy and quick administration of the proposed changes in the health care system by the relevant bodies. Conclusion Medical care is a very important aspect in any country in the world. The massive spending by the United States government is a good indication of this. The government should ensure that on top of spending a lot, it encourages its people to adhere to the set policies aimed at improving the health standards in the country. A healthy nation leads to a healthy economy. Work cited Gruber, Jonathan. Public Finance and Public Policy. New York: Worth Publishers, 2011. Print. Read More