Healthcare insurance is something that people who live in England do not have to worry about. Because of the National Health system anyone who needs to see a doctor or be admitted to hospital will receive their medical care free of charge. This is funded by people who are working paying national insurance stamps which is deducted from their wages. Some people may pay into a private health scheme as well to enable them admission to private hospitals should they need urgent treatment, but it is not necessary. The National Health scheme is the envy of the world and we take it so much for granted. In America and most other countries, it is vital for people to take out insurance to cover their healthcare. Most people in America are covered by healthcare insurance through their employer. The employer negotiates with an insurance company to provide cover for their employees and also the employee’s family. This does not always cover the cost of medical care and very often the employee will have to make up the difference.
In America there are 31 million uninsured people and at the moment President Barack Obama is fighting to get a bill passed that will totally change the US healthcare system. If he succeeds most Americans will be covered by healthcare insurance, but there is a lot of opposition to this bill and although the vote is 60 to 39 there are still two different bills to merge and voting has got to take place again. There are many reasons why people have no healthcare insurance. For a lot of working class Americans who earn low wages, their employer does not provide insurance. They do not earn enough money to take out a private insurance and are over the limit to qualify for a Government funded program. Many people try to take out private insurance but if they have an existing medical condition, it is very unlikely that an insurance company will accept them. Some people are too old for an insurance company to cover their healthcare but older people over 65 can obtain medical care through a Government funded program. Also disabled people, children from low-income families and veterans of war will also be covered through Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Administration.
Without healthcare insurance people will not seek medical care until it is sometimes too late. Often diabetes, blood pressure. heart disease and cancer in the early stages will be left unchecked resulting in thousands of unnecessary deaths. Hospitals will always treat emergency cases and Charity care is sometimes available which is usually funded by religious orders and non-profit foundations. About one fifth of the people who are not insured could afford insurance, others are able to get Government funding and the remainder need help financially if they become ill.
Having healthcare insurance in America is vital but almost 15% of Americans are uninsured and do not seek medical care when it is first needed. This often leads to unnecessary deaths that could have been avoided if medical treatment had been received earlier.