Session: 11- Healthcare in the United States
How well you think poverty is being addressed currently in the United States?
In the United States, healthcare facilities are primarily owned and operated by the private sector. The lack of governmental agencies that offer healthcare insurance in the US have caused millions of Americans to be uninsured. The United States leads the world in diplomatic relations, protection of human rights, and wealth but we fall far behind from the industrialized world when it comes to offering free healthcare to the vast majority of citizens. Private and Government insurance are the main types of health care insurances available. Statistics show that in 2008-2009, the number of uninsured individuals increased to 50.7 million and the number of uninsured children rose to 7.5 million. As a result, in 2008 the private sector experienced a decrease of 66.7 percent, however, government insurance increased by 29 percent. This statistics are very alarming because the fact that more people are now eligible to receive government insurance most likely means that more people are being dragged into poverty. Furthermore, it emphasizes the urgent need for health insurance that is affordable for everyone. Young adults, 18-24 year olds, are the portion of the population who is least likely to have health insurance. On the contrary, the elderly are the ones with the highest rates of insured individuals. The South is the region of the United States that holds the greatest number of uninsured individuals. According to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Georgia’s rate of uninsured individuals increased by 20.5 percent from 2008 to 2009. Minorities compose one-third of the population in the United States, yet they conform 52 percent of the number of uninsured individuals. The great disparity that exists in the health care system of the United States precipitated the creation of The National Center on Minority Health and Disparities. They made some alarming discoveries regarding the inequality of the healthcare system; however, to address these problems, Medicare, Medicaid, and S-CHIP were created. While these programs provided rudimentary health services for children and the elderly, they failed to address that our youth is also very vulnerable since they are the part of the population with highest rates of uninsured individuals. A country such as the United States can no longer afford to ignore the issue of healthcare; it is not possible that we lag so far behind on life expectancy. As a result, the Health Care Reform was finally approved by congress. This government initiative will allow millions of Americans to have access to much-needed healthcare!
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