Healthcare Services In America
Healthcare Services In America
Despite spending more than twice as much per citizen on healthcare as other wealthy nations, nearly a fifth of Americans are still without health insurance. Without health insurance, you will have to pay out of pocket for any treatment, even just a visit to the doctor. Due to the weight of medical malpractice insurance on doctors, American medical services are incredibly expensive. Basically, without insurance you can go bankrupt with a single serious trip to the hospital.
In fact, nearly half of all personal bankruptcy filings in 2009 were caused by medical debt. This makes it essential to get some form of medical insurance when living in America. Around 60 per cent of Americans get their health insurance heavily subsidised by their employer, but still must pay on average three hundred dollars or so per month to maintain their coverage. This is typically prorated and taken out of one’s salary each week, so the pinch isn’t quite as bad as it sounds.
For those who are self-employed or unemployed, the only option is to buy health insurance from one of the companies in America such as Blue Cross Blue Shield. The monthly costs of private insurance can be quite expensive if covering an entire family or if you are already ill in some way.
Most of the hospitals in the US are owned privately, and only handle emergencies and serious inpatient medical care. For a more common illness or broken bone it’s most likely you’ll visit a local physician. The expense is usually much less than at the hospital and all doctors operating in America are trained at the highest levels. So you’ll certainly pay for your medical care, but at least it is quality service.
There are also specialty clinics in most cities that handle things like gynecology, pregnancy care and obstetric care. If you have health insurance of any kind it will often cover most of the costs of a visit to any of these clinics, doctors or the hospital. Typically, a person will pay the minimum deductable and the insurance company will cover the rest.
While President Obama’s recent healthcare initiative has done little more than fuel the fire of debate on both sides of Congress, the goal was to ensure that every American had health cover. Government spending on healthcare in the most in the world, yet the actual care itself is woefully mismanaged.
The government has a program for seniors over 65 called Medicare, while low-income citizens can qualify for Medicaid. Government programs cover 28 per cent of the US population and around 84 per cent of Americans have some kind of health coverage. But until the government finds a more cost-effective method of taking care of its citizens, newly-arrive emigrants should put healthcare coverage at the top of their priority list.
