The Washington Examiner recently published an article stating that people enrolled in Medicaid have better access to medical care than those who are uninsured. The article references a new insurance study conducted by AHIP in which 38,678 surveys and responses were collected between 2013 and 2015. This may not sound like much news as people with health insurance plans should have better access to medical care than those without it. However, the study refutes the widespread notion that those who are uninsured receive the same, if not better, medical care than those who are enrolled in Medicaid.

There are a few ways to look at this article, but first you must understand that there are extremely polarizing viewpoints when it comes to health insurance. One predominant viewpoint is that health insurance should be available to everyone in the U.S. and should be paid for through group health insurance, traditionally offered through an employer, or through individual insurance where an employer plan is not available. For everyone else who is not covered through group or individual insurance plans, they should still be covered, but they should pay nothing, or close to nothing, in order to have health insurance just like everyone else.

Obviously there are loud voices that debate all aspects of my previous statement, but we have yet to come up with a cohesive plan to address our nation’s very polarizing healthcare issue.

In my opinion, each state should pay for health insurance for the people that can’t afford it and should design a program for those who are uninsurable due to a preexisting condition. Colorado had such a program in place before Obamacare, and by all accounts it worked well.

Actually, the Federal Government has even suggested doing this very thing, by offering to send money to help subsidize states that offer options for its low-income and uninsurable citizens. The challenge, however, is that too many states do not know how to run a state government and put certain priorities in place. One sad example of this is California, that has appeared in the news countless times recently as a poster child for states that are doing things the wrong way.

So how do we fix it? Obviously, as the aforementioned study mentioned, people are far better off when they have health insurance of any kind than they are uninsured. And in lieu of counting on the government to straighten things out and get it right, I submit that it is up to the taxpayers of each state to put people in positions of power who know how to make something like this happen.

For those of us who are parents, we obviously want to find the best care for our children we can afford. Did you know that the government actually offers CHIPS (Children Health Insurance Plans) that are paid for by the Federal Government? As a matter of fact, Congress just passed, and President Trump just signed, a bill that funds the CHIPS program for many years to come. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about this program or others.

To sum it up, I believe it is time for our nation’s states to tighten their belts just like us regular folk, and start getting both the Federal and individual state checkbooks in order.

Do you have some thoughts you would like to share about the state of our healthcare system? All thoughts and opinions are welcome. And if you would like to discuss your healthcare needs with a licensed and experience professional, I would love to speak with you.

Steven Gilbert
Licensed Agent AK,WA,UT,CO,NM,TX,FL