Eco Hc561 Week 3 Dq 2

How does the current system of financing health care affect the number of uninsured or underinsured people?

The current system of financing health care most definitely has an impact on the number of uninsured or underinsured people. For starters, the current cost of health care premiums are astronomical for many to afford, more and more employers are choosing not to provide employees with medical coverage (sometimes wages will compensate for those that are not as concerned with medical benefits coverage/packages), insurance deductibles, co-payments, and out-of-pocket prescription medications are continuously rising, and those that apply for supplemental health insurance (i.e. Medicaid, Medicaid and Supplemental HMO Plans, and state medical coverage) may not always be qualified for this type of health care insurance coverage.

The number of the uninsured and underinsured is continuously on the rise, especially as more and more people become unemployed. The underinsured and uninsured population will frequently visit the emergency room for medical treatment because other health care facilities may not be accessible to them or they misuse the emergency room, thus using it as a walk-in clinic. In addition, many of the uninsured and underinsured visit local city or county hospitals which will absorb the costs of these patients because the patient is unable to meet the financial responsibility for the health care services rendered. This will cause other issues to surface such as hospital closures, the cost of health care increasing, staff to patient ratio (affecting the quality of health care that is delivered to the patient), and the tax burden that is incurred by taxpayers to make up for the shortfall of finances.