In the hopes of averting the economic healthcare crisis, the federal government passed into law the burden that all Americans attain health insurance coverage. Healthcare spending remains the largest expenditure in the US economy. Few people would argue that our system is broken and in need of repairs. Yet, the fix that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) attempted to lay down failed to stave off healthcare bankruptcy.
In the US, a Nerd Wallet study revealed that medical bills are the biggest cause of bankruptcy in our country. It is important to note that medical debt is different than other debt because it occurs from unavoidable circumstances, such as becoming ill or being injured in an automobile accident. Other debt is more controllable because it is created out of choice, such as unwise buying or investing decisions. One researcher estimates that in 18% of bankruptcies, medical debt was a major factor. Another article in The Atlantic tells us that 40% of Americans owe debt collectors for medical expenses.
The fact that the majority of Americans now have health insurance coverage does not appear to stave off medical debt. Nerd Wallet estimates that 10 million Americans are unable to pay their medical bills, despite having year round coverage. Additionally, 11 million Americans will accrue credit card debt to pay medical expenses and another 15 million will deplete their savings. It is also estimated that 25 million American patients skip doses of prescribed medication in order to help reduce costs.
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The statistics clearly demonstrate that healthcare costs are a huge problems in the US. Patients are losing their savings and going into debt when they fall ill. Some even reach the point where there is no other choice left but to declare bankruptcy. These patients did not fall down the economic abyss because of bad spending choices: they were forced down the financial drain because they or a loved one fell ill or were injured. Other countries do not experience this burden like we do here in the US. Our system is too siloed and derailed to treat people effectively without oppressing them financially.
The ACA set out to fix this problem and get all Americans covered by health insurance. However, not only did it fail in this goal, it worsened the situation for many Americans. People are now forced to choose to pay premiums they may not want or to pay tax penalties. Under many of the health insurance exchange plans, people are getting coverage but many times this coverage carries very high deductibles. Premiums are often costly and unaffordable to many. But, they are inserted into a position where they are required to pay either expensive premiums or financial penalties. For Americans living paycheck to paycheck, this is an unbearable shackle laden on their backs. The discussion of the cost of these premiums is essential to any review of healthcare policy.
Employers are also feeling the load of rising premium costs. In order to remain financially salvageable, many employers are shifting the cost to their workers. While the business owners may be required to provide health insurance to their workers, they are not required to foot the entire bill. Again, the rising expense of healthcare is loaded onto the shoulders of people already struggling to stay afloat.
As the biggest expenditure in the US economy, healthcare spending continues to soar. The ACA may have been an honest attempt to rein in the bludgeoning spending but its failure is damaging our medical system. Support of the ACA now clearly falls along partisan lines and any attempt to hold a discussion around it now becomes a talk of political agendas. The American people, the ones now carrying an unbearable load, are secondary to the gains the politicians are seeking. Any healthcare policy or laws must focus around patients and outcomes. Bankruptcy of Americans for medical bills despite having coverage should raise an outcry. Americans deserve better than a politicized system that bleeds them of their money. Who is ready to cast aside politics and work for a real healthcare reform?
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