Insurance programs in the United States often prove to be inadequate. Two basic programs that exist in the United States are Medicare and Medicaid. Basic that includes assistance with hospital stay and other form of healthcare bills healthcare is offered through Medicare. It caters only to persons over 65, however, and offers only a narrow margin of coverage (Tallon & Rowland, 2006). Medicaid, on the other hand, has the potential to cover a larger percentage of individuals, but such persons as it provides for are designated as “categorically needy” or “medically needy” (Moyer, 2004).
The categorically needy include senior citizens and disabled persons. The medically needy persons are those whose only need for help from the government is with medical expenses. However, the many restrictions placed on the plan make it difficult for a large proportion of the poor to gain access to its benefits. It has been cited that over 50% of persons living below the poverty line were unable to qualify for Medicaid in their states in 1994 (Moyer, 2004). Factors that contribute to this are that other things (such as age, medical condition, family status, etc.
) are taken into consideration when people are being screened for this medical plan. Thus if these government programs do not meet people’s needs, many must turn to private insurance companies. Health maintenance organizations (HMO’s) are on the lower-priced end of health insurance companies, yet many have argued that this low cost is misleading and that they come with low-quality treatment. The premiums that HMO’s charges have increased by about 20% in the past few years, as reported by the organization Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP, 2000).
Although there appeared to have been a “lull” in the increasing rates of health insurance by HMO’s in the mid-1990’s, this can be explained by a number of other factors that have merely shifted the cost burden and have most likely contributed to such problems as John Q. Archibald faces in the movie. Those who have claimed that HMO’s are cheaper than those plans they replaced in the past have been guilty of two main errors: HMO administrative costs are usually considerably higher, and have not been considered by many who claim that such plans save money.
These administrative costs are passed on to the patients, who are often denied treatment or given lower-quality treatment when they are unable to pay. Furthermore, to disguise their relative administrative and monetary inefficiency, HMO’s often hand-pick patients that are healthier and will therefore cost the organizations less in the future. This kind of “cherry picking” is at the root of their coercing hospitals and medical centers to forfeit necessary tests in order that the HMO will not have to pay for major procedures that might prove life-saving for some patients (PNHP, 2000).
Some people in the United States are even unable to afford HMO’s and many of these fall also into the categories of those who do not qualify for Medicare or Medicaid. As a result, a large portion of the United States’ population is without medical insurance. It has been demonstrated in a 1999 census that “43 million Americans live without health insurance even though 75 percent of them have a full-time job or live in a household with at least one member working full-time” (Mueller, 5 cited in Moyer, 2004).
More recent statistics show that between 2000 and 2006, the number of uninsured seniors has risen by six million (Tallon & Rowland, 2006). In fact, 18% of all Americans under 65 have no insurance and “Employer-sponsored health insurance, sensitive to both the general economy and changes in health insurance premiums, has decreased markedly from covering 66% of the non-elderly in 2000 to 61% by 2004” (Tallon & Rowland, 2006, p. 1). In addition to these persons who are uninsured, another census estimated 42 million Americans live in a condition where they are underinsured (Moyer, 2004).
This kind of underinsured condition can be serious, as it can be seen that John Q was not uninsured but underinsured, and it still led to a disastrous situation. Conclusion The movie John Q has demonstrated the need for healthcare reform in the United States. It shows that many hospitals are more concerned with monetary gain than they are with the healing of patients. It has also demonstrated the plight of many American people who are either uninsured or underinsured and are virtually defenceless in the event of a medical emergency.
Finally, it has shown the harsh reality that many people face when they have to go to their HMO’s for help. Only the very basic level of care is usually provided, and the systems by which HMO’s operate seem to make it nearly impossible to get help in the event of major medical emergencies. The final analysis is that the overall system of healthcare seems stacked against the poor and underprivileged in a country where it cannot be denied that enough resources should exist to serve all the citizens. References Scott, B. “Interview with Nick Cassavetes. ” IGN Entertainment.
Fox Interactive, 2002. Retrieved on November 8, 2006 from http://movies. ign. com/articles/324/324560p1. html A look at the issues involved with the making of the movie John Q from the perspective of the director.
It gives insight into the similarities between the circumstances of the film and the life of the director himself. Kearns, James & Nick Cassavetes. John Q. New Line Cinema, 2002. The movie that tells the tale of a man who hijacks a hospital’s emergency room in an attempt to convince the hospital’s administration to save the life of his dying son. Moyer, Peter.
“Healthcare in America: Current Status and the Potential of a Socialized Model. ” Biology Senior Seminar. Goshen, Indiana: Goshen College, 2004 http://www. goshen. edu/bio/Biol410/bsspapers04/petergm/petergm. htm Provides an outline of the different socially funded healthcare models (Medicare, Medicaid) in the United States and compares them with models from other countries. Physicians for a National Health Program. “Claim that HMO’s Save Money is Little More than Folklore. ” Chicago: PNHP, 2000. http://www. pnhp. org/news/2000/03/ This is an editorial that challenges the idea that HMO’s save money.
It uncovers the areas in which HMO’s have presumably cut services and underreported expenses in order to give the effect of having lowered healthcare prices. Tallon, James R. & Diane Rowland. “The Uninsured: A Primer—Key Facts about Americans without Health Insurance. ” Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. Washington DC: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. http://www. kff. org/uninsured/upload/7451. pdf This report offers a comprehensive look at the United States healthcare system and offers insight into the demographics concerning Americans who are uninsured and why this is the case.