Private Healthcare

For most people who have good health it is something that they take for granted and never give it a thought until they feel ill. For other people having good health is just a dream as they might have been dogged by poor health all their lives. In England it doesn’t matter how many times we need to see a doctor or attend hospital we do not have to worry about the cost and getting a bill. Because working people pay National Insurance stamps every week which are deducted from their wages, we are all entitled to medical care free.
Paying National Insurance stamps while we are working means that we are covered for the rest of our lives should we become ill. People who do not work and have not paid into the system are still entitled to free health care. This is the only country in the world that has such a healthcare system and people in other countries cover their healthcare by taking out insurance coverage.

In the USA most people are covered by an employers insurance that is negotiated on behalf of the employee. This covers both the employee and his family. Very often an employer will increase the amount of insurance coverage instead of giving the employee a pay rise. This is because the employer can receive a tax break for doing this. For other people who are not covered by an employer’s insurance scheme they might take out a private insurance to cover their healthcare. It can be very difficult for some people to qualify for private insurance if they have an existing medical condition. Also people over a certain age will not be accepted for private insurance. Many working class Americans who are in low paid jobs do not have an employers insurance to cover them, cannot afford to take out a private insurance and earn too much money to qualify for Government funding. Even the people who are covered by an employer’s insurance often have to contribute towards the cost of a bill. There are 31 million people in America who do not have any healthcare insurance but the elderly, war veterans, the disabled and children from low-income families can get help from Government programs. Help is sometimes available from Charities and all hospitals will treat emergency cases.

There are still millions of people who have no healthcare insurance in the USA and do not qualify for help towards medical costs. Usually these people delay seeking medical treatment and conditions like heart decease, cancer, blood pressure and diabetes are left too long before they are treated. Sometimes it is too late which results in thousands of unnecessary deaths which could have been avoided. If healthcare insurance and other related policies like nursing care insurancewere more affordable for the average person, it is quite possible that some of these deaths could be avoided. President Barack Obama is fighting to reform the healthcare bill in America and if he succeeds it will be the first time ever that almost all Americans will have some form of healthcare insurance coverage.

Not everyone in the USA has healthcare insurance coverage which is vital to cover the costs of medical treatment for illness and injuries.