What are the five fundamental reasons that government should care about the number of uninsured? How does the Affordable Care Act aim to help this group of people? Discuss
Fundamental Reasons of Government on the Care of Uninsured
The increasing number of uninsured individuals in the country is an increasing concern for the government. It is a situation that draws the interest of the government concerning the number of uninsured. Therefore, there are fundamental reasons that the government should care about the number of uninsured. These fundamental reasons define the manner in which the government handles the issue of uninsured citizens in the country.
The first fundamental reason that the government should care about the number of uninsured is the uninsured individuals in the country are less likely to fill prescriptions and more likely to pay more of their out-of-pocket money for the prescriptions. Most of the uninsured citizens lack the ability to fill prescription drugs because of the costs. Therefore, these kinds of individuals risk their health and interfere with their recovery and treatment of illnesses because of the derailed filling of prescriptions. The government has the responsibility of ensuring that the citizens have proper medical care. As such, the government cares for the uninsured because of their inability to fill their prescriptions and facilitate the recovery process.
Second, the government should care for the uninsured because they are more likely than the insured to report issues getting needed medical care, including the serious conditions. Most of the uninsured individuals postpone their needed medical care because of their financial concerns. Moreover, others can go without the physician-recommended medical tests or treatments because of the same financial concerns. Third, the government should care about the number of uninsured because they are less likely to have a considerable regular source of health care. Most of the uninsured individuals do not have a regular place to visit when they need medical advice and attention, or when they fall sick. As a result of that, most of the uninsured suggest that their usual sources of care are in the emergency rooms.
Fourth, the government should care about the number of the uninsured because they are less likely to get the needed preventive care. When compared to the insured individuals in the country, the uninsured are less likely to receive preventive care for crucial illnesses such as prostate exams, cholesterol screening, sigmoidoscopies, blood pressure checks, mammograms and pap smears. Fifth, the government should care about the number of the uninsured in the country because the uninsured are more likely to receive poor health care for chronic diseases.
Among the uninsured, especially the non-elderly adult diabetic citizens, lacking insurance is associated with the less monitoring of the glucose levels and fewer examinations of the eyes and feet, which leads to an increased risk of disability and hospitalization (Hardcastle, Record, Jacobson, and Gostin 26). For instance, the uninsured individuals with the end-stage renal diseases are more likely to progress more to advanced stages beginning the dialysis. The increased disability and hospitalization increases the government expenditure in the health sector.
The Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act aims to help the uninsured individuals through various ways. The Affordable Care Act has reforms of health insurance coverage in the country. It makes the coverage of health insurance a legal expectation on the legally present United States Citizens. The Act strengthens the existing forms and programs of covering health insurance and establishes a new and affordable market of health insurance for the families and individuals who lack affordable employer health insurance coverage or other forms of minimum and essential coverage such as the Medicaid and Medicare.
In expanding the essential coverage, the Affordable Care Act restructures Medicaid fundamentally to cover all the citizens and the legal residents of the United States whose family income is less than 133% of the level of federal poverty (Harrington, Ng, LaPlante, and Kaye 11). The Act also streamlines the enrollment regarding the coverage of health insurance. The Affordable Care Act is a representation of the effort to reframe the financial relationships between the American citizens and the healthcare systems to stem the crisis of health insurance enveloping the communities, families, individuals, the system of health care and the entire national economy.
In addition to the establishment of the universal coverage and the shared responsibility, the Act sets the federal standards for the health insurers offering various products and services in both the small group and individual markets, and the employer-sponsored plans of health benefits. It is the expectation under this Act that the insurance departments will enforce and implement the laws as part of their oversight powers of legal insurance (Hawes, Moudouni, Edwards, and Phillips 29). The Act also encourages the employees to undertake wellness activities at their workplaces that incentivize and promote outcomes of actual health. The wellness activities are not limited to the acts of participating in the wellness programs, but can include the incentives aiming at the actual achievement of improved health outcomes (Moon 18). As such, it is clear from the provisions of the Affordable Care Act that it helps the groups of uninsured individuals in the country, especially those with financial constraints by providing for programs of covering the health care insurance coverage of the citizens.
Works Cited
Hardcastle, Lorian E., Katherine L. Record, Peter D. Jacobson, and Lawrence O. Gostin. "Improving the Population’s Health: The Affordable Care Act and the Importance of Integration." (2011): Print.
Harrington, Charlene, Terence Ng, Mitchell LaPlante, and H. S. Kaye. "Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services: Impact of the Affordable Care Act." Journal of Aging & Social Policy (2012): n. pag. Print.
Hawes, Catherine, Darcy M. Moudouni, Rachel B. Edwards, and Charles D. Phillips. "Nursing Homes and the Affordable Care Act: A Cease Fire in the Ongoing Struggle Over Quality Reform." Journal of Aging & Social Policy (2012): n. pag. Print.
Moon, Marilyn. "Medicare and the Affordable Care Act." Journal of Aging & Social Policy (2012): n. pag. Print.
