User:Allibsusss/Health equity

Article Draft
I am adding an additional section to Section 7 on Health Insurance, adding issues of inefficiencies of certain health insurances, and incorporating subsection to the bullet point section that already exists on this page.

This new section will be on health insurance and I am also moving some of the already existing bullet points into this section.

Italicized Text= already in the article


 * note: There are a lot of citations from the already existing content that I did not properly add to this sandbox when I copied the text from the page. If it is italicized, the content was not my work and is (probably) properly cited on the actual page.

Normal Text= things that I am proposing to add/edit

Bold= logistical notes (not to be included in the actual article)

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''The health care financing system plays a major role in causing disparities in access to healthcare. The Institute of Medicine in the United States says fragmentation of the U.S. health care delivery and financing system is a barrier to accessing care. Racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to be enrolled in health insurance plans which place limits on covered services and offer a limited number of healthcare providers.[8]:10''


 * (logistical note: currently 6th bullet in general section 7)

A major part of the United State’s healthcare financing system is health insurance. The main types of health insurance in the United States includes taxpayer-funded health insurance and private health insurance. Funded through state and federal taxes, some common examples of taxpayer-funded health insurance include Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP. Private health insurance is offered in a variety of forms, and includes plans such as Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO’s) and Preferred Provider Organization (PPO’s). While health insurance increases the affordability of healthcare in the United States, issues of access along with additional related issues act as barriers to health equity.

There are many issues due to health insurance that affect health equity, including the following:


 * Health Insurance Literacy. Within these health insurance plans, common aspects of the insurance include premiums, deductibles, co-payments, coinsurance, coverage limits, in-network versus out-of-network providers, and prior authorization . According to a United Health survey, only 9% of Americans surveyed understood these health insurance terms . To address issues in finding available insurance plans and confusion around the components of health insurance policies, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) set up state-mandated health insurance marketplaces or health exchanges, where individuals can research and compare different kinds of health care plans and their respective components . Between 2014 and 2020, over 11.4 million people have been able to sign up for health insurance through the Marketplaces . However, most Marketplaces focus more on the presentation of health insurances and their coverages, rather than including detailed explanations of the health insurance terms.
 * Lack of health insurance coverage. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 28.9 million people in the United States were uninsured in 2018, and that number would rise to an estimated 35 million people by 2029 . Without health insurance, patients are more likely to postpone medical care, go without needed medical care, go without prescription medicines, and be denied access to care. Minority groups in the United States lack insurance coverage at higher rates than whites. This problem does not exist in countries with fully funded public health systems, such as the exemplar of the NHS.
 * (logistical note: currently 1st bullet point in general section 7)
 * Underinsured or inefficient health insurance coverage. While there are many causes of underinsurance, a common a reason is due to low premiums, the up front yearly or monthly amount individuals pay for their insurance policy, and high deductibles, the amount paid out of pocket by the policy holder before an insurance provider will pay any expenses . Under the ACA, individuals were subject to a fee called the Shared Responsibility Payment, which occurred as a result of not buying health insurance despite being able to afford it . While this mandate was aimed at increasing health insurance rates for Americans, it also led many individuals to sign up for relatively inexpensive health insurance plans that did not provide adequate health coverage in order to avoid the repercussions of the mandate . Similar to those who lack health insurance, these underinsured individuals also deal with the side effects that occur as a result of lack of care.
 * Underinsured or inefficient health insurance coverage. While there are many causes of underinsurance, a common a reason is due to low premiums, the up front yearly or monthly amount individuals pay for their insurance policy, and high deductibles, the amount paid out of pocket by the policy holder before an insurance provider will pay any expenses . Under the ACA, individuals were subject to a fee called the Shared Responsibility Payment, which occurred as a result of not buying health insurance despite being able to afford it . While this mandate was aimed at increasing health insurance rates for Americans, it also led many individuals to sign up for relatively inexpensive health insurance plans that did not provide adequate health coverage in order to avoid the repercussions of the mandate . Similar to those who lack health insurance, these underinsured individuals also deal with the side effects that occur as a result of lack of care.