Nathalie Beneche

CIVCOM 211

April 5, 2012

Dr. Chirico, Dr. Wolf

Health Project

Whether or not you have good health insurance or any health insurance at all, paying

$600 for a prescription for eye medication is, in my opinion, absolutely ridiculous. Why are our

hospital bills so expensive? Surgeries, for example, can cost up to tens of thousands of dollars,

based on the type of surgery, the tests that are done before and after the surgery, the operating

room fees, the complications that may arise, the amount of time spent in the hospital for

recovering, the actual surgeon’s fees, anesthesia, and other things that generally go into a

surgery. Can we really expect someone to pay for all of that? What can a bartender do when he

realizes he has cancer and the costs of radiation and chemo, etc. can reach up to a hundred

grand? America, being the world leader, is number 37, on the list of countries with the best

health care systems. Leading the list are Japan, the UK, Germany and Switzerland.

The US obviously sees its problems with healthcare and is undergoing many transitions

to make healthcare affordable for everyone. On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the

Affordable Care Act that has health care reforms that will take place during the next four years.

In 2012, we have already started some of those reforms. States have been allowed to cover more

people on Medicaid. The government is “cracking down” on health care fraud. And besides just

fraud, it is now illegal for an insurance company to deny coverage based on a small technical

error on an application. They are providing more coverage for early retirees, the PCIP. The PCIP

is the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan. It provides new coverage for those who’ve not had

insurance because of pre-existing conditions. It also prevents insurance companies from denying

coverage for those under nineteen because of a pre-existing condition again. The government is

extending the coverage for young adults so they may be able to remain on their parents plan until

the age of twenty-six. They are also bringing down health care premiums. Premiums are the

amount of money you pay for health insurance and there are many factors that go into

determining those premiums. They see whether or not you are a tobacco user of any kind, they

determine your body mass index, BMI. If you have a high BMI you’ll receive a higher health

insurance premium, they take your age into account and even your gender. Females will tend to

have higher health insurance premiums because they need more wellness visits to the doctor as

well as the fact that women can get pregnant and they need multiple doctor visits throughout

their pregnancy.

All of these are great things that are getting started, butI’m sure along with everyone in

America just want to see it all follow through and eventually we can reach a point where we are

not afraid or anxious going to the hospital for our medical problems because we know we cannot

afford the bills when they come to us.

ReferencesAmerican Cancer Society, (2011) Find Support and Treatment: The Most Reliable Cancer Treatment Information http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/FindingandPayingforTreatment/ManagingInsuranceIssues/the-cost-of-cancer-treatment

HealthCare.Gov, (2012) http://www.healthcare.gov/law/timeline/

Health Insurance Medics (2011) Health Insurance Premiumshttp://www.healthinsurancemedics.com/health-insurance-premiums.html

Heisler, J., (2008) How Much Does Surgery Cost?http://surgery.about.com/b/2008/06/11/how-much-does-surgery-cost.htm