In 2009, more than 16 percent of the U.S. population lacked health insurance.
People who do not have health insurance coverage generally do not receive timely medical care. According to the Urban Institute, a health policy organization, in 2001 not having medical insurance was related to 18,000 additional deaths a year for adults. Although a person does have access to emergency care when uninsured, this does not take the place of sustained medical treatment.
Significance
People without medical insurance do not receive timely care, and the uninsured also receive less care, according to the Institute of Medicine, or IOM, a nonprofit organization for public policy. A person without insurance tends to have fewer routine screenings, such as mammograms or cholesterol checks. If a serious health condition, such as cancer, develops, he may ignore early warning signs and not seek medical attention until the symptoms progress. When a disease is not diagnosed in the early stages, treatment becomes more complicated and chances of recovery are diminished.
Considerations
People without health insurance often have worse outcomes from a medical condition, notes the Urban Institute of Medicine. They might seek emergency medical attention after symptoms progress to a critical stage. Even when they seek treatment at an emergency room, they might not follow up with additional care afterward because of concerns about cost. Without medical insurance, a person tends to stop taking necessary medication due to the ongoing costs. For example, if a person goes to the emergency room because he is having chest pains, the medical staff will provide treatment and stabilize the patient. Upon release, the staff will recommend that the patient continue care with a cardiologist. Without medical insurance, however, the patient probably could not afford ongoing care.
Financial Impact
A person who does not have health insurance might place a financial burden on family members, either directly or indirectly. For example, if the person becomes ill and sees a doctor, the family might step in to pay for the doctor visit or for prescribed medications. Or the person without insurance might spend months or even years paying off accumulated medical bills. High medical bills often contribute to financial crises, such as bankruptcy.
Misconceptions
When a person is healthy and does not have insurance, he may consider medical care unnecessary. This also can affect other members of the family who do not have specific symptoms of a condition. For example, parents without health insurance might not take a seemingly healthy child to a doctor for routine checkups. However, the child might have developmental problems that a health care professional would recognize. An example cited by IOM is a child with chronic ear infections. If the child does not receive medical care, she may develop permanent hearing loss.
Social Impact
An emergency room that treats large numbers of uninsured patients may not be able to sustain adequate treatment. If the hospital does not receive payments for services, it might reduce staff or make other financial cuts. Longer wait times also could occur, and with over-burdened staff, more mistakes are likely. The hospital may not be able to perform all diagnostic tests for each patient's symptoms, and patients may be released before the medical staff obtains all information on the condition.
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