Diane Hotaling
Week 3 assignment-Importance of healthcare
12/3/12

Healthcare is a topic that plays a role in everyone’s life at one point or another starting at birth and throughout life till death. In the U.S. then level of healthcare we receive comes at a high cost and is usually only affordable by having health insurance. The lacking of health insurance can play a deadly effect on the healthiest to sickest person and the richer to poorer and as a result insurance for any person no matter age, race, build or any other characteristic is a necessity for so many types of reasons.
One of the biggest reasons health insurance is so important and a necessity for all is because of how unaffordable health care would be too many without it. Many doctors charge hundreds of dollars for an un-insured individual for one appointment alone. Sadly this expensive initial appointment only covers the appointment itself and any tests, x-rays, medication or other services all come with an additional cost. This cost for each individual step in a persons everyday doctors appointment can make one appointment without insurance over a thousand dollars to thousands of dollars by time you pay for the doctor, the medication, any needles or tests involved all separately. This shows how important health insurance is because without it a simple cold can cost your whole savings in one appointment. Even worst than the effects of losing a large amount of money on simple medical treatments many with insurance take for granted that people without healthcare cannot afford to go to the doctors at all. This can cause individuals to let symptoms go causing worsening of conditions or even death. For example a person without health insurance may develop a cold and due to the cost they ignore it, the cold then becomes pneumonia and leads to hospitalization or even worst death. Insurance allows individuals to pay much lower fees when receiving medical care, medications, and any other medical services that they may need whether they could afford the doctors fees themselves or not, it gives everyone a chance at a healthy life.
Also health insurance covers regular physicals, dental, and other tests that screen for many diseases and conditions that when caught early enough can be cured or regulated, avoiding what could become severe, deadly, widespread disease control issues. An instance of this is Aids in the 80’s when it busted out spreading fast, with little knowledge of the disease and few treatments it was an instant decree of death but due to health insurance this has changed. Since then testing and medications have happened and people can live with AIDS for a lifetime now but without proper insurance they most likely could not afford these life saving treatments and medications that changed it from a deadly disease to giving people infected a chance at life. Sadly, due to not having health insurance and coverage other countries, such as Africa have felt