It Would Not Be Ethically Right for a Hospital to Charge People Who Are Not Insured More Than Those Insured For the Same Medical Procedure
Introduction
Health insurance is mostly provided by private sector but there are programs set by the government such as children health insurance, veterans programs, and Medicaid.
According to U.S census bureau 16.7% of the population was uninsured for medical services in 2009. People in the USA use a lot of money in health care than in any other country. Total income in the USA used in health care is higher than any other nation of the United Nations. A study carried out in five states in 2001 found that medical expenses have been causing bankruptcy to many people.
With this the number of uninsured person in health has greatly increased and the health services costs have gone up (Johnson, 2010). This paper will look at a standpoint that it would not be ethically right for a hospital to charge people who are not insured more than those insured for the same medical procedure.
Right to Health Care
Every person has a right to health care whether insured or not. Lack of health insurance has been known to cause unnecessary deaths as services are not provided with urgency to those who are not covered and do not have money. Every person is entitled to health care and all should be charged equally regardless of whether they have insurance cover or not. It would not be ethical to charge people who are not insured more than those who are insured (Spicer, 2008).
Why Uninsured
Some people do not qualify for government insurance and they are not supported by their employers for insurance. Some of this people do not afford to buy insurance from private insurers and they go with some of medical needs not attended due to lack of insurance. It has been a challenge to provide cover to all people who are eligible.
Studies done in U.S in 2007 showed that 29% of the population was uninsured and most of this people could not afford it and they were in need of financial assistance. From this it would therefore be unethical to charge uninsured people more for the same medical procedure for most of them cannot afford it.
Uninsured people do not seek preventive measures and do not seek medical services at the onset of a chronic condition. This has greatly contributed to medical crisis in the country. Treatment of uninsured patients should often be taken as charity care by care providers (Johnson, 2010).
Rules and regulations in private and government programs force many people to stay without care coverage. States has enacted legislation concerning reimbursement of funds to the care providers and hospitals. Economic problems have greatly affected the Medicaid and other government programs of insurance.
With this cost of health care is shared by increasing taxes or high premiums to the insured. Public programs are set for the elderly , disabled and children to access health care whether they are able to pay or not. Federal laws are in place to ensure that all people access health care and emergency care whether they are insured or not.
The government should provide insurance coverage to all (Doig & Rocker, 2003). With all these considerations it is therefore unethical to charge the uninsured people more than insured people for the same medical procedure for there are many reasons that can lead to one not being insured.
Conclusion
It would not be ethically right for hospitals and care providers to charge uninsured more than insured for the same medical procedure. There are many reasons that lead to people not being medically covered. This includes lack of finances, high cost of private insurances, and not being eligible for government coverage.
Medical expenses have gone up and this has led many people to bankruptcy. Government should take responsibility and ensure all its citizens are medically covered. Strict rules should be set for hospitals to ensure all people whether insured or not are charged equally for the same medical procedure.
Reference List
Doig, C. & Rocker, G. (2003). Retrieving organs from non-heart-beating organ donors: a review of medical and ethical issues. Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, 50(10), 1069-1076. Web.
Johnson A, (2010). Recession swells number of uninsured to 50.7 million” The Wall Street Journal. Web.
Spicer, J. (2008). Distributive justice; Practice Nurse. Web.