As a representative of my department, it would be my initial duty to oversee those who could possibly lose access to healthcare, or not seek it when concerning the repeal of ACA. With the increase of potential debt, aggressive collection tactics, and full exposure to all health costs, individuals with serious illnesses once covered by various ACA provisions will be left with nothing. In particular, individuals with preexisting conditions will often be uninsured entirely, and will often be individuals in need of care the most often. They may also qualify as a group in need of the highest quality of care depending on their various illnesses and degree of health. It is important to address these issues in an effort to help save lives in the event the ACA provisions that protect them are repealed.
The new chair of the board, with no prior healthcare experience may not be aware of how widespread this issue could become. Even if there is no prior experience in healthcare, or any experience in as a patient, something they may be able to understand is accruement of debt. Debt is a serious factor for many American’s lives, as it often determines whether an individual can get a loan to start a business, buy a car, or lease a home. It can be the difference, in many instances, between having a roof over one’s head or not. In relation to healthcare, those with preexisting conditions who are left without any insurance available to them will be at the highest risk to accrue the most debt. Not only will this prevent them from doing all of the aforementioned actions, but it could prevent them from seeking or receiving lifesaving medical care. As debt accumulates and credit scores plummet, individuals begin to believe they must pay off their debt before receiving more care, as they are already drowning in debt. Unfortunately, many of these individuals are unable to work, or work part-time. Their income is limited and beyond buying essentials such as food and medication, which they also sometimes cannot afford, they may not have the money to afford making substantial payments to get out of debt, increasing the health crisis.
As with most issues in the medical world, some individuals will see the full difficulties of a lack of insurance and accruement of debt more than others. Studies and observations performed on elderly groups of whites and African Americans showed elderly African Americans were twice as likely to experience a high rate of debt based on their various medical issues or health status . This could be for a variety of reasons, all of which would call for more focused care toward minorities at all ages no matter their health status. The initial issue is Medicaid and the federal government’s incessant attempts at cost reduction. While this may be unavoidable, if appropriate healthcare were delivered, as well as available at an affordable cost to all individuals including minorities at a younger age, they would be less prone to desperate need for healthcare under a reductive program such as Medicaid in old age. While Medicaid and the health of the elderly does need to be addressed for those using it right now, we can help prevent the problem once more by examining the cost of healthcare throughout an individual’s lifespan, attempting to keep them in good health as they age, not until they age.
Similar to elderly African Americans, women are more likely to delay any necessary healthcare based on the debt they have accrued . Also similar to the previous example, this is for many reasons, including the deficit in job payment between genders, as well household income and dynamic, ability to work fulltime, and ability to receive insurance of any substance through an employer. Many women, for example, are unable to gain a position of true authority at a workplace allowing them to maintain stable healthcare because they are single mothers. It can be difficult to retain occupational success while attempting to raise and pay for a child alone. Married women, some who are unable to be covered by their spouse’s insurance, sometimes find them in the same situation. Again, factors outside of the results need to be examined. For instance, if affordable insurance were made available to single mothers through hospitals, they may be more inclined to seek healthcare when necessary, allowing them to progress successfully at work, weening them off hospital programs. Affordable birth control methods would also allow individuals to avoid being in such a situation in the first place, but the repeal of ACA plans to eliminate this entirely, which could end in chaos for the healthcare system concerning both women and infants.
In sum, an argument based around debt would be an initial point to make, as well as a good place to relate to an individual with no healthcare experience. We have all experienced debt and it is easy to understand. Moreover, it allows for a successful transition into explaining the bigger issue concerning the American healthcare system as we repeal the ACA. The bigger issue concerns many individuals who once relied so heavily on it to remain healthy and alive, as well as out of debt, may become very unhealthy and needlessly burden the healthcare system. While much of this burden is directly related to medical debt, there are also surrounding factor to be discussed and possibly remedied, such as supplying those with preexisting conditions with healthcare, seeking to provide healthcare to women and minorities throughout their entire life, and providing preventative care to all. The potential burden the repeal of the ACA will place on the healthcare system is something that can be avoided, and a topic that must be discussed if a remedy is to be found.
References
Rukavina, M. (2013). Medical Debt and Its Relevance When Assessing Creditworthiness. Suffolk University Law Review, 1-20.
Wiltshire, J. C., Dark, T., Brown, R. L., & Person, S. D. (2011). Gender Differences in Financial Hardships of Medical Debt. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Undeserved, 371-388.
Wiltshire, J. C., Elder, K., Kiefe, C., & Allison, J. J. (2016). Medical Debt and Related Financial Consequences Among Older African American and White Adults. AJPH Research, 1086-1091.
