If health insurance was mandatory for every U.S. resident, would it bring drastic changes to society or meet unacceptance from individuals? Currently, citizens in the United States have diverse opinions regarding the up-to-date healthcare system. Some individuals purchase insurance to avoid obstacles in case of health events and an acute demand for treatment. The other group of humans prefers to stay uninsured as the costs spent on healthcare significantly impact their financial conditions. It was estimated that approximately 8.6% of the U.S. population, or 28 million people, remain uninsured nowadays (Congressional Research Service, 2022, para. 1). With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the risks of hospitalization and the need to receive professional care raised substantially, and uninsured individuals were known to be trapped in various payment issues. However, the out-of-pocket spending still affects insured humans on occasions the insurance does not cover. Out-of-pocket payments totaled $389 billion which was 9.9% of health consumption expenditures in 2020 (Congressional Research Service, 2022, para. 9). Consequently, the expenses of an average American citizen take a significant part of his budget and lead to certain doubts and risks before purchasing health insurance. Medical aid services could have become mandatory for every American resident which would have decreased the unexpected costs in acute situations and improved the health conditions of the citizens. However, some changes should be considered before the implementation of the innovation as not all individuals can afford insurance due to marginalized financial positions. It is especially relevant to those whose income is not low enough to use federal health insurance programs such as Medicaid. With state-initiated changes, there is a chance for healthcare insurance to become obligatory for every resident inhabiting the United States improving their well-being, treatment outcomes, and quality of life.
Reference
Congressional Research Service. (2022). U.S. healthcare coverage and spending. Web.