Problems encouter by patients without health insurance in America - Essay Example

Problems encounter by patients without health insurance in America. Introduction Nearly 46 million people living in the United s are uninsured, majority of them of color, are likelihood of not receiving medical advice that they cannot afford and it is a reality. As per the survey conducted by The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that works to advance health care quality and insurance coverage, national health care spending is growing at a rate of 7% per year that is faster than the U.S. economy. There are 16 million American people who are considered underinsured and many people who are unable to pay for these rising rates will become one of them or they will join the ranks of the uninsured. As per the Kaiser Family Foundation reports 40% of uninsured adults do not have a regular primary health care checks. That means no annual physicals or other preventive care. Consequently, many uninsured patients are ignorant that they have a medical problem until they have an emergency situation. Tribal and ethnic minorities are overly affected by the absence of health care coverage. A report by the U.S. Census Bureau 2004, discloses that almost one third of Hispanics, 20% of African Americans, 29% of American Indians/Alaska Natives and 17% of Asians lack health insurance (Burnette, 2001). These facts indicate that there is a substantial portion of population lacks adequate health insurance or has no coverage at all. In this essay it is explained how this grave situation can be managed and how the national, state and community programs that can help bridge the gap between uninsured patients and the medical care they need. Concept/Issue Health care is a mounting problem in the United States. Medicine has developed great ways to deal with many of the problems, but the treatments are not cheap and the combination of improved life expectation and an enormous growth in the population of the United States has increased health care costs very high. The use of health insurance has helped to push the costs of health care up, as the costs are not exposed and hidden behind insurance plans. Equally, health care costs are highly unyielding, since someone with a serious illness will not care about cost as the survival is important. These reasons leave an upward trend on medical costs. Because of this, the demand for universal health care will continue to grow as people have greater difficulty getting the care they want or need. In reality, it is expected that the government to provide health care for all. There is an inadequate supply of medicine in the United States. That supply is effectively smaller than the available demand hence the price of medicine is greater than what many people can afford. Thus, it is argued that the government takes over the health care system and the problem can be solved. But in reality it wont address the fundamental problem that demand still exceeds supply. Actuality, demand will go up if the health care is turned over to the government, since people think it as their basic right. And when demand goes up, so do prices. But government can tackle this problem by negotiating directly with hospitals and drug companies. If the government forces the drug companies to sell their product for prices too low to cover the costs of research the drug companies may stop the production. At the same time government also can not force the doctors to treat the patient less than the cost the treatment because the doctors may look for other profession for earnings or simply refuse to treat patient who are covered by the government health care program. If the government does put a universal health care plan in place, it is going to work and it is not going reverse. If there is a problem with universal health care the authorities can effectively correct and modify it. By pooling together all citizens in Universal health care can reduce the high costs towards health care of people and also there is possibility of lowering costs by caring the sick and preventing them from having expensive complications later. This eventually would lower costs for the nation as a whole (Andrew, 2006). U.S. medical schools and training hospitals are a significant constituent of the national safety network for Americas millions of uninsured and underinsured, furnishing countless community-based plans intended to help working families. They deal with wellness programs, preventative and primary care medicine, health education initiatives and emergency care. These services are vital lifelines for the uninsured Americas citizen’s health care system. There are many national, state and community programs that can help bring down the gap between uninsured patients and the medical care they need. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has scrutinized and understood the issue of the nations uninsured, and supported for potential solutions. The Associations Executive Council authorized a set of principles by which the AAMC and its members can appraise the possible efficacy of current and emerging proposals to reduce the number of Americans without health insurance. The AAMC knows that the individual health care needs of the Americans living without insurance vary widely according to their geography, socioeconomic status, race, gender, and specific medical concerns. AAMC thinks that priority should be given to suggestions that will have a major impact on reducing the total number of uninsured persons in the United States. To deal with the needs of the poor whose incomes make them ineligible for Medicaid the AAMC also favors suggestions that provide coverage to low-income persons at 200 percent or below the federal poverty level. Circumstances should not impede an individuals right to medical care in different jurisdictions. Therefore AAMC support suggestions that establish national and identical eligibility requirements. In addition to coverage for acute care in the case of medical emergencies, health insurance should also give coverage for health protection and medically proven and known preventive care services that support the health of persons. AAMC considers that any new suggestions for the uninsured should be financed in a way that does not too early reduce spending on existing programs. In the era of a workforce that frequently changes jobs, the AAMC recognizes the need for a program for the working poor that does not penalize them for changing employment. New proposals for the uninsured can potentially affect the providers who have served as the nations traditional safety net for the medically poor. The AAMC believes that these implications should be considered in initiatives that diminish the number of uninsured so that the vital patient care activities provided by academic physicians, medical schools and teaching hospitals are not negatively impacted (AAMC. Org. 2001a). Implications of Uninsured Patients for the Future of Nursing Practice in America Nurses can also help uninsured patients and families locate nearby sources of free or low-cost medical care, such as free clinics and hospitals that offer charity care. As per the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), major teaching hospitals provide more than half of all hospital charity care. Many of these medical schools and teaching hospitals offer agendas such as student-run community clinics that provide free care to low-income and uninsured patients (AAMC. Org. 2001b). The lack of basic safety net providers, particularly nursing centers, has the potential to become a national crisis and demands for stronger federal direction and financial support. At present, no agency in the federal government has the responsibility for observing the effectiveness and status of nursing centers. Even though efforts to organize nursing centers regionally have met with success in some areas of the country there is an urgency to link nursing centers nationally and provide a opportunity that will encourage a combined voice that will influence policy programs. Progress of a central record could provide reliable outcome data and reveal the impact that nursing centers have on our nation’s health, mainly for the underserved and uninsured. The funding of nursing centers should be a key consideration for inclusion in the national health policy schedule. Though some authors have recommended that aggressive 3-year findings be made available to basic safety net providers to support efforts financially, supplemental funding is not the answer. This forces neighboring safety net providers to race with each other for limited dollars. There is a need for a broad funding plan, addressing the fundamental problems that make the health care safety net system necessary for so many people. Failure to support nursing centers financially could have an upsetting impact not only on the populations who depend on them for care but also on other providers that rely on the safety net to care for patients whom they are unable or unwilling to serve. In spite of devastating odds against survival, nursing centers have been able to provide quality care to susceptible populations, including those without adequate health insurance coverage. Nursing centers must begin collecting and reporting results that will provide important information for future health policy funding and repayment proposals (Anderko and Uscian, 2001). Conclusions When 46 million people living in the United States are uninsured, it is obvious that problem faced by the uninsured/underinsured people of America is not small. If the Government can bring the Universal Health Care Plan, it is going to work and the spending on health care on people come down since the system promotes prevention than cure, through healthy eating habits and education. Nurses can play a key role in helping uninsured or underinsured patients by taking part in local health events that aim the uninsured and by locating nearby sources of free or low-cost medical care. Finally, by bringing together all citizens in Universal health care, there is possibility of lowering costs by caring the sick and preventing them from having expensive complications later. References AAMC Org., (2001a) AAMC Principles. AAMC Executive Council. Retrieved on November 9. 2006 from http://www.aamc.org/uninsured/principles.htm AAMC Org., (2001b) Protecting Americas Uninsured. AAMC Executive Council. Retrieved on November 9. 2006 from http://www.aamc.org/uninsured/ Anderko, L. and Uscian, M. (2001) Quality Outcome Measures at an Academic Rural Nurse-Managed Center: A Core Safety Net Provider. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice Vol. 2 No. 4, November 2001, 288-294. Andrew, (2006) Obsidian Wings. Universal Health Care. Retrieved on November 8. 2006 from http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2006/08/univeral_health.html Burnette, M. (2001) Closing the Health Insurance Gap. Career Recruitment Media, Inc. Retrieved on November 8. 2006 from http://www.minoritynurse.com/features/health/082406a.html Read More