30 Million Uninsured Americans and proposed solution

30 Million Uninsured Americans and proposed solution

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Introduction

The importance of insurance and especially medical insurance cannot be gainsaid as far as safeguarding the health of the nation is concerned. Indeed, it is recognized that health insurance lowers the cost that an individual would incur in case he or she suffers from an ailment or is admitted in hospital. However, recent trends pertaining to the uptake of insurance have been worrying. Research shows that there has been a consistent increase in the number of uninsured Americans with studies showing that 16 million, 29 million, and 30 million Americans had no insurance cover in 2003, 2010, and 2012 respectively (Fitzgerald, 2013). This has been mainly attributed to the relatively high cost of insurance, which makes it impossible for individuals to afford insurance policies. This underlines the fact that any strategy that aims at increasing the uptake of insurance in the United States would have to target the affordability of insurance policies.

Proposed solutions

According to Ferrara (2010) reforming Medicaid is the preliminary step towards the reduction of the number of uninsured Americans. This is especially considering the substandard coverage that Medicaid has been providing since its inception to the more than 50 million Americans. In this regard, the United States Congress must take proactive and comprehensive measures that would enhance the uptake of coverage. This would not only involve a reduction in the cost of insurance but also policies that would require individuals to take up medical insurance. The reforms will require the congress to transform Medicaid to assist Americans who cannot afford insurance cover in private health insurance. This will be accomplished by the use of health insurance vouchers and federal assistance block grants.

Indeed, different political parties have offered different proposal aimed at increasing the uptake of insurance by Americans. Republicans have vouched for market based solutions, where Americans would go for the cheaper health insurance policies that the market provides (Karen, 2007). This means that the companies would be competing on the basis of cost, which would essentially result in healthcare insurance cost reduction. Democrats, on the other hand, have proposed that public-based programs and employer-based coverage be expanded and strengthened through reinvestment of the gains derived from enhanced efficiency resulting from synchronization between results and incentives.

Obama medical reforms involve compulsive legal measures that would pressure uninsured Americans and insurance companies. They ai.............