Demystifying the Myths about the U.S. Health Care System

One of the primary criticisms that seem to be coming up whenever the debate over American health insurance comes up is the large numbers of people who are uninsured in the United States. It is estimated that about 45 million Americans are uninsured at any one time. This is about 15.6% of the countries population of 288 million. More than two thirds hold private insurance, which is about 68.6 million while the other 2.6 million hold public health insurance. Americans who cannot afford private insurance depend on public systems, with the major one being Medicare catering for those who are 65 years and above. Low income earners are usually insured by Medicaid. Both Medicare and Medicaid also cover handicapped people.

In reality though, the insured do not go for long without cover. In fact, a quarter who do not have cover go through this temporary situation for less than one year. Even among those who were declared as uninsured, about 14 million were eligible for Medicaid cover or for programs that would see their children covered. These people lacked cover simply because they had taken the advantage of this or were simply unaware that they were eligible. In other cases, job changes or family situations like the death of a family member or the birth of a child can result in periods of without insurance. In fact, according to a 1998 study, about 57% of those under 65 who lacked health insurance had no full-time jobs or they lived in a household that had nobody holding a full-time job. A tight link with employment is created in the American health insurance treatment. It was also noted that significant proportions of people who lacked cover had the means to pay for private insurance. However, they chose not to. This figure was found to be about 17% of the uninsured. These uninsured lived in households that had incomes of over $75,000.

The uninsured also have a safety net, the public hospital network. The uninsured can obtain health care either through local health departments, public hospitals, community health centers or other facilities. Access to private health care among the working poor is however not limited by financial difficulties. Rather this limitation is brought about by the American health insurance tax and regulations in place. Such regulations specify what insurance policy must be covered among other things. Though about 70% of American health insurance is private, there is considerable public health spending which explains why Americans have access to the most effective treatments despite the health care system gaps.