Monday, January 19, 2009

Expense Makes Health Insurance Unaffordable

By Ethan Kalvin

Many individuals have become increasingly aware that health insurance is completely out of their reach. With the cost of health care skyrocketing to an unbelievable high, we have to wonder, how can we afford this? Not only are we reaching deep in our pockets as a nation, we are reaching, struggling and dying for these costs.

Not only is the cost of health care extremely frustrating, trying to figure out the plan we opted for is as well. Many of us do not understand what a deductible really is or how to meet your limits. Does this change yearly? How does our insurance coincide with a spouse's plan? What happens if we lose our jobs? What is a PPO or a network provider? The expenses alone are enough to drive one crazy. Is there anyone who can help explain what we are really paying for?

It is an understood fact that before drugs and medical equipment can be released to the market, it must be thoroughly tested by the FDA. Most of us expect medical procedures to cost a lot, but we also feel like they are costing too much and there's some unfairness there. Meanwhile, insurance companies seem to be getting richer and richer. More medications available on the market means doctors will prescribe them. And more than ever before, those prescriptions are for antidepressants.

The amount of new drugs being produced is almost laughable. Do the same ingredients really need so many different names? Escaping these new medications is nearly impossible. All one must do is turn on a TV, listen to a radio or surf the internet; there will likely be an advertisement for the latest personality change in pill form. Each drug comes with a list of possible side effects that will probably, in the end, cost more of our dollars just to treat the new conditions we have acquired from taking them.

It is no secret that millions of Americans are struggling to take care of their bodies both mentally and physically. We have let this necessity slip right through our unsuspecting hands. Paying for health care is no longer a choice; for many of us, it simply is not an option. Undoubtedly, we will continue to struggle. As for the middle class and the poor, it seems we have all accepted that if we cannot pay for our health care in a traditional way, we will be paying for it with our lives.

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