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Health insurance, a must for all citizens
I am healthy; I exercise, I eat the right kind of food and I have no harmful habits. So, why do I need health insurance? This is a frequently asked question. Some of you in the audience may, in fact, be pretty convinced that you do not need a health insurance, and some you, maybe, unsure. Let me tell you friends, the beauty of life is its unpredictability, and while some of the surprises thrown by it are pleasant some of them are not so. As each one of you knows, even the best-laid plans can succumb to the unpredictability of life. So, what if tomorrow you find yourself in a freak accident, or a medical ailment that might need surgery? A health plan can help you manage such medical emergencies, and help you plan your finances better.
The first reason that makes people hesitant to enter into a health insurance plan is, of course, the expenses that ensue. In a survey conducted in 2013, 61% of the uninsured adults cited cost to be a factor for not availing health insurance. However, insurance should not be viewed as an expense as it is an investment. It is so because it protects us from unexpected medical costs. Statistical trends from 153 countries, published in the Lancet, show that broader health coverage gives better access to necessary care and improve population health, particularly among the poorer faction of the society. According to Michael Spence, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, health “dramatically improves income and welfare.” Thus, an investment in health care helps an individual and the country in overall growth.
Covering medical expenses without the aid of a health insurance policy will be a costly affair. Today, medical expenses for fixing a broken leg cost up to $7,500, a three day stay at the hospital costs around $30,000 and a complete cancer care would cost a fortune. A health insurance would protect a person from these unexpected costs. Today insurance providers offer a wide variety of flexible and innovative health benefits plans. Thus, we have the option to choose the policy that is best suited for our needs.
Sometimes, economic constraints do prevent people from entering into a health insurance plan. Luckily, in America we have Medicaid, a policy under the Obamacare program, which is a government-run health insurance for the poor. It provides a low-cost alternative for health plans. Researches show that about 41 million people in the US were uninsured in the year 2013, and this number has been substantially reduced by the introduction of the Affordable Care Act.The government also offers individual tax credits and tax credits for employees to help people purchase and maintain health insurance coverage.
Health insurance not just pays the medical costs it also helps prevent the onset of medical ailments by covering the cost of preventive services, like cholesterol testing, mammogram, and vaccinations for children. Almost 30% of the uninsured adults went without necessary preventive care in the year 2013. Studies show that uninsured persons are more likely to go without preventive care than the insured persons.
Insurance also offers peace of mind, because an individual knows that he and his family would be able to pay their medical expenses when need arises. This helps them live without anxiety and stress, and avoid the possibility of incurring huge debts, which might occur when one has to pay sudden and huge medical bills.
If you are still not convinced, let me give you a small statistics. In 2003, Turkey’s infant and mortality rate were very high, and the country decided to provide competitive health coverage to its citizens. Today, 95% of Turkey’s population is insured, and their infant mortality rate has decreased by 40%. Thus, health insurance is a necessity for a stress-free life, and going without insurance will have serious health consequences.
Works Cited
Kim, J. Y. (2014, January 14). Speech by World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim on Universal Health Coverage in Emerging Economies. Retrieved from The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/speech/2014/01/14/speech-world-bank-group-president-jim-yong-kim-health-emerging-economies
Stevens, W. S. (2003). Health Insurance: Current Issues and Background. New York: Nova Publishers.
The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and Uninsured. (2014, October 29). KFF.org. Retrieved from Key Facts about the Uninsured Population: http://kff.org/uninsured/fact-sheet/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2014). Protection from high medical costs. Retrieved from www.healthcare.gov: https://www.healthcare.gov/why-coverage-is-important/protection-from-high-medical-costs/
US, Senate, Committee on Labor and Human Resources. (1997). Health insurance management strategies used by large employers to control costs : report to the chairman, Committee on Labor and Human Resources, U.S. Senate. Washington DC: DIANE Publishing.
World Health Organization. (2013). Arguing for Universal HealtH Coverage. Geneva: WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. Retrieved from World Health Organization.
