CRITICAL REVIEW OF ‘SICK AROUND AMERICA’
According to the article, “Sick around America” by the Frontline, the number of uninsured in the United States of America is increasing by the day. This saddening situation can be attributed to the deteriorating economic situation in the country. The country is currently under a declining economic state that is leading to a scenario of massive job losses through lay-offs and job-closures. The economy being the pillar supporting all economic activities in the country has in turn negatively affected the health system, particularly the Insurance sector. Frontline reports that the private insurance system fails to cover close to 46 million Americans, leaving millions more underinsured and at the risk of bankruptcy. These alarming figures have left a large portion of the American population at the risk of death, incapacitation or serious complications as a result of lack of success to a favorable insurance system.
Acquiring Health Insurance in the United States has been like finding lost treasure in the sea. The cost of health insurance is so high that even the middle-class Americans are finding it hard to afford. The frontline cites the example of a family that earns $63,000 annually, who cannot afford buying an insurance policy of around $12,000 a year. The high cost of health insurance is becoming a nightmare to many citizens that a majority of Americans stick to their jobs just because of the Health Insurance benefit enjoyed. In the article, ‘sick around America’ the Frontline asserts that for some Americans, life has become a quest of finding and keeping health insurance. Health insurance is acting as a tie-post, making people give up on finding their dream jobs, to stick in jobs that offer health insurance. Professor Pollitz in this article has compared the quest of sticking to jobs for health insurance purposes as a ‘marriage’ that many people cannot afford to divorce their health insurance.
So disheartening is the situation concerning health insurance, that even those Americans who find coverage in the private sector have no guarantee that they will be protected. Private health insurance has been pictured as a scheme that siphons money off the pockets of citizens while not achieving its real purported purpose. Several cases have been cited where insurance policies have been rescinded after the insurance company gets hint of one`s health status. The article, ‘Sick Around America’ gives one such example of a realtor Jennifer Thompson, whose insurance policy was rescinded immediately after the insurance company got wind of Jennifer`s diagnosis of cancer. Outside employer-based health care plans, Americans have even experienced more hardships in acquiring insurance policies, especially those with pre-existing medical conditions.
The deteriorating economic condition has also negatively affected the operations of private health insurance. In the past, some states required insurance companies to cover all citizens of a state. This policy has since resulted in many insurance companies stopping their operations in these states. At present, only five states- New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont- that guarantee everyone insurance. Nevertheless, the premium in these states remains relatively high at around $600 to $700, where the insurance market has allowed underwriting. The tendency of Americans to buy health insurance has also played a great role in discouraging private insurers from operating effectively, as they are known to only buy insurance policies when they fall sick. This results in adverse selection or a high rate of unhealthy people to healthy ones in a pool of insured.
In an overview, the American government has one of the largest expenditures on health care reaching a toppling amount of $2.2 trillion. Nevertheless, with such a huge budget on health care, most of the doctors in the United States feel underpaid, and are not willing to work for less. With the country facing such a disaster, the big question remains whether the new Obama health care reforms will solve this mess, or is there more to tackle after implementing the reformed health care bill.
CITATIONS
<http:// http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundamerica/view/>
