Question

The following ethical dilemma discussion is from Chapter Three of the accompanying text. The questions immediately following each ethical dilemma are guided questions for you to consider as you frame your thinking. Seek to develop your own positions where neither the law nor public opinion has reached an ethical consensus that conforms to accepted values. For every question, there are two or more valid positions that are consistent with universal values and principles.

1. Should everyone who pays into insurance risk pools be forced to pay higher health insurance premiums to cover the costs of the uninsured when they become seriously ill? Is this situation fair, especially when the higher premiums lead to the insured becoming underinsured?
2. What values are making the legislation mandating universal health coverage controversial in the United States?
3. Is the value of providing universal health coverage great enough to incur the cost of care to the uninsured? Or, are the uninsured of less value to society than the insured?
4. What are society's obligations, if any, if someone decides not to purchase health insurance, but then falls seriously ill or is involved in a catastrophic accident? What are the obligations if their uninsured child needs care, if any?

Answer 1

1. The pooling of risk is fundamental to the concept of insurance. A health insurance risk pool is a group of individuals whose medical costs are combines to calculate premiums. This pooling risk allow the higher costs of the less healthy to be offset by the relatively lower costs of the healthy, either in a plan overall or within a premium rating category. Larger the risk pool, the more predictable and stable the premium can be.

2. President Trump's administration is undoing some of the Affordable Care Act's provisions. Affordable Care Act entirely failed. In lieu of total repeal the Republican-led congress repealed the individual mandate to purchase health insurance,beginning in 2019. Earlier the health insurance coverage was always voluntary.Universal health coverage through universal universal health insurance remains an elusive goal for the U.S. It is the federal government's responsibility to make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage.

3. United States spends more per capita on health care than any other nation. USA has a health care system based on insurance coverage. Majority of population is covered by private/employer bases insurance.The government deals with this insufficient coverage through public insurance programs developed under Social Security Amendment of 1965. Government and business do not pay the full cost of health care and this ultimately increase the cos of household. Another cost come from charity care.

If the U.S. adopted a Universal Health Plan, all american would be covered by public health insurance, regardless of income,age and employment status.

4. When individuals cannot access mainstream health care services, they often seek care from the so-called safety-net providers. These providers include institutions and professionals which deliver large amount of care to uninsured.