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We have all heard the numbers by now; 46 million people in this country are uninsured. This is a disturbing number, but it’s important to understand who these people are and why they are uninsured. Medicare and Medicaid are government programs that have been set up to take care of many of these people, but not all of them. Government programs take money from the taxpayers and use it to cover the uninsured, but the more government intervenes; the more expensive healthcare gets for all of us. The government tells healthcare providers what they can legally charge someone on Medicare and Medicaid, but it’s not enough to cover operating costs for the hospitals and doctors so they have to overcharge the people with private insurance to cover the difference. This makes healthcare more expensive for the people who are paying and less affordable for lower income families who then have to start relying on the government as well. There are a little over 300 million people in the United States and 1 in 6 of us doesn’t have any health insurance at all because the cost keeps going up to cover those who can’t pay. People who are 18 to 30 years old make up about half of the uninsured. Simply put, they believe they are invincible and really don’t see much of a need for health insurance. They rarely to never need to see a doctor so if they don’t get health insurance from their employer, they won’t buy it themselves at any price. The people I know from this age group that do need to see a doctor quickly realize that if they are in a lower income bracket, the government will take care of them, so why buy health insurance? The 30 to 65 age group is the backbone of our healthcare system and this is where all the money comes from. These people are in moderate health and they are in the prime money making years of their lives. The other half of the uninsured are from this group; 11 million of them are uninsured and another 11 million of their children. If we are to fix the healthcare system and bring down costs, this is where we need to start. Low income families are covered by Medicaid but these 11 million families make a little too much, don’t have health through their employers and can’t afford to get insurance. Discount fee for service plans like Ameriplan Health are designed for this group. Combined with catastrophic health insurance they can provide the right cost vs. coverage to supply this need. Those aged 65 and older are eligible for Medicare at one level or another. Medicare also covers the disabled and the government is on an eternal quest to expand these benefits to cover every procedure in existence. We are living longer lives and the older we get, the more healthcare we need. Baby boomers are just starting to hit retirement age and over time, there will be more people in this age group and less in the 30 to 65 age group. This is a recipe for trouble as there will be many more healthcare users and fewer healthcare payers. One solution to this problem is government subsidized elderly healthcare combined with tax credits to offset the premiums. This way healthcare is still not run by the government and companies can compete to offer the best rates. There is a deep debate going on across the country about healthcare reform. Some people, like me, believe that the answer is always a capitalist solution and the government can only get in the way and make things more expensive. Others think that a socialist approach would work better with the government completely taking over the industry, offering universal healthcare and then charging the people for it. One thing is for sure; if we do nothing, healthcare costs will continue to go up and more people won’t be able to afford insurance.
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