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Health care is a rather interesting topic for our society that not only influences the well-being of millions of Americans but also the strength of our economy. Our nation spends more on health care per person than any other nation, yet when we compare ourselves to the other wealthy nations we have one of the highest infant mortality rates and a relatively low average life span. Between 1980 and 2004 the number of uninsured Americans as well as the uninsured rate had been increasing despite strong economic growth and in 2005, almost 47 million Americans were without health care. For many families, lack of health care can be a source of vulnerability for the household's economic status, as sickness or injury without health care can be a financial burden that pushes many families into poverty.
Not having health care tends to translate into a lower quality of medical care leading to a greater risk of dying prematurely and having poorer health than those with health care. Part of this stems from the reality that those without health care often try to delay seeing a doctor during health problems or opt not to pursue treatment altogether until treatment becomes an absolute necessity. When it becomes critical for the uninsured to seek a doctor, close to a third of the bill is paid by the patient, with the rest of the tab being picked up by other sources. In the end, this often means higher premiums for those who are already insured.
According to the non-profit organization FamiliesUSA, by the year 2010, individuals covered by private employers can expect to see their premiums for health care rise by $532 and the premiums for families covered by private employers to rise by $1,500 to cover the costs of the uninsured. This makes it easier to see why merely a couple of years ago, William Clay Ford Jr. from the Ford Corporation, argued that the United States health care system "puts U.S. companies at a disadvantage" compared to companies based in other nations.
The current state of health care is out of control. Although the number of
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