HEALTH
The Importance of Low Cost Health Services
The medical coverage issue in the United States has improved substantially over the last decade or so, courtesy of the Affordable Care Act. It opened the door for many lower-income individuals and families to get medical insurance that might otherwise remain out of reach.
Yet, it’s not a perfect solution by any means. Medical care of any kind remains profoundly expensive, even for those with medical coverage.
The ACA also hasn’t created perfect coverage. Around 28 million people remain without medical insurance to help them pay for health services.
These kinds of issues help show why low cost health services are so important. Keep reading for a deeper exploration of the above problems, related issues, and why those make affordable health services so essential.
Reduce Pressure on Emergency Rooms
Emergency rooms provide a crucial public service by managing people with acute medical issues, such as people recently involved in a car accident or with fast-onset symptoms. Yet, the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act or EMTLA puts emergency rooms and hospitals into a tough situation.
The law essentially tells hospitals that people who show up at the emergency room must receive treatment, whether they can pay or not. For someone without insurance, that makes emergency rooms the first, last, and often the only choice for getting professional medical care.
It also means that many emergency rooms remain overwhelmed with non-emergency cases that the emergency room staff must still treat. That means less time and attention for patients who may have an actual emergency.
Low cost health services or free health services provide an alternative that lets emergency rooms focus on the high-priority cases they exist to manage.
Protect At-Risk Populations
There are many at-risk populations in the U.S., such as children living in poverty, young mothers, and the homeless. These groups often receive too little or no professional health services except during emergencies.
While programs exist specifically to help get young children and the poverty-stricken access to health care, these programs typically require you to apply for the benefits.
Children cannot apply for themselves and many young people don’t know about the services. The extremely poor may even avoid seeking medical care of any kind out of fear of the potential bill.
That creates a situation where people simply do without until something disastrous happens. In the case of the homeless, emergency room medical care is often the only viable option. For example, young runaways living on the streets may not seek medical care out of fear of being returned to abusive homes.
Low-cost or free services give these groups somewhere to go to seek medical advice that doesn’t leave them afraid of the bill. It also creates a means of directing eligible parties toward appropriate programs.
Control Public Costs
While hospitals may face a legal requirement to provide services to anyone who comes to the emergency room, it’s not free. In fact, the cost of providing care to the uninsured in emergency rooms is tens of billions every year.
Granted, hospitals don’t go completely uncompensated for these costs. The federal government, state government, and even local governments often chip in to help offset these costs for hospitals. Yet, that money comes out of taxpayer dollars.
While low cost or free health services still require public funding, it’s structured public funding. Programs that fund the services can limit the scope of the services.
For example, the program can specify that a healthcare service provides low-cost prenatal care to low-income mothers. The program can use statistical data about the rate of pregnancy and average costs to set budgets.
The program can also work with drug companies and medical suppliers. This reduces costs with lower prices on medications and equipment.
While not necessarily cheap, it’s often cheaper than what equivalent services cost in an emergency room setting.
Improve Public Health
Local governments, state governments, and the federal government all have a vested interest in maintaining an essentially healthy population. With a basically healthy population, the community is more likely to thrive.
For example, when people are healthy, they go to work. Working populations get paid. They spend at least some of that money locally.
They also generate tax revenue individually and through their employers. Employers with healthy employees deal with fewer sick days. That typically improves customer service. Good customer service generates more profit and, by proxy, more taxes.
When people don’t get appropriate health services, they’re more prone to avoidable illnesses. That leads down a road to people taking more sick days, which degrades service. Worsening service impacts profit margins and ultimately tax revenue.
Just as importantly, it means that contagious people take their illnesses to work and pass them on. It’s particularly bad in low-income jobs where people can’t afford to miss work.
Free and low cost health services help keep local populations healthy. They let people deal with treatable problems at price points they manage.
It’s the Moral Thing to Do
There is also an argument that society at large has a moral obligation. Denying basic medical care based on income strikes many as cynical at best and unspeakable at worst. Low-cost services let society do what many see as the moral thing.
It’s a way of balancing out the often huge gulf between the haves and have-nots of society.
Low Cost Health Services Matter
While many don’t like the idea of publicly-funded, low cost health services, they do matter. These services reduce stress on emergency rooms across the nation. Given the toll that Covid took on healthcare staff, anything that reduces stress is a net good.
These services protect at-risk populations. They can also reduce public costs by structuring services. Affordable health services can improve public health. That comes with many benefits for communities and governments.
Many also see it as a moral obligation. Looking for more about health care in America. Head over to our News and Health sections for more posts.
Kenneth is a proud native of sydney, born and raised there. However, he pursued his education abroad and studied in Australia. Kenneth has worked as a journalist for almost a decade, making valuable contributions to prominent publications such as Yahoo News and The Verge. Currently, he serves as a journalist for The Hear Up, where he focuses on covering climate and science news. You can reach Kenneth at [email protected].
