A Health Care Dream, Health Insurance Essential for Well-Being and Universal Health Care Coverage
Welcome to this installment of the Weekly Health Insurance News Roundup. In this installment we will look at a few articles that cover the topics of health care segregation, how health insurance is essential for someone's well-being, as well as another take on the idea of universal health care coverage.
The first article we will look at comes to us from The Denver Post and is entitled, "I have a health care dream." In this article, author Howie C. Wolf -- a doctor in Colorado for over 40 years -- first discusses how he became a doctor during the time of segregation, with separate operating rooms for white and black people, for example. He then goes onto say that health care still suffers from segregation, only now it's between the insured and the uninsured.
At one point he plainly writes, "As a physician I cannot offer the same services to an uninsured patient as I can to one who has health insurance." This is due to the high cost of procedures, studies, drugs and so on. He also cited the example of a young woman who had breast cancer owing up to $40,000 in medical care costs due to her insurance company cutting her off after paying for what they deemed a fair amount of coverage. The author then discusses how a sizeable portion of the money paid to health insurance companies doesn't even go to health care, but to things like marketing, advertising, salaries and so on.
The author closes out the article by stating, "Only a publicly financed, privately run system can help us realize the Dr. King dream of removing inequalities and injustices." While much will have to be done to realize this dream, if it is ever realized, one would hope that the steps we take to getting the affordable health care and health insurance everyone needs isn't an impossible one.
Our next article comes from Modern Medicine and is entitled, "Insurance Essential for Good Health, Well-Being." In this article, the author cites a recent study by the Institute of Medicine, "America's Uninsured Crisis: Consequences for Health and Health Care," that looks at the effects of being uninsured in this country. According to the report, one in five non-elderly Americans, and one in ten children don't have health insurance coverage. This means adults and children are less likely to receive preventative care and services that can avoid unnecessary medical complications or death.
The article goes onto say that large amounts of uninsured Americans can affect the host of health care so negatively that it can not only have a financial impact on the health care industry, but even those who do have health insurance. The report flatly states that not only can policymakers and the public presume that the medical needs of the uninsured are met with charities and emergency rooms, and that a lack of insurance is hazardous for one's health. This is pretty biting stuff that seems to show that any reform or change might be for the better, rather than sticking with the status quo.
Our final article is entitled, "Health insurance for all Americans?" and comes to us from WPTV.com in Palm Beach, Florida. This article looks at the local case of those who can't afford health insurance going to a local clinic, one that runs on donations and volunteers. While there are those who oppose any kind of governmental control over health care, the director of the clinic said of a more universal system that funded everyone, "More funding, more staff. We see more people. It's as simple as that." Hopefully such funding will be realized somehow, so that everyone can get the health insurance and health care coverage they deserve.
This concludes this edition of the Weekly Health Insurance News Roundup. I hope you've found it informative and enjoyable, and until next time, have a happy and healthy day.
