Uninsured Get Less Health Care Than Insured

If you believe a recent report, then uninsured people get lesser health care than those who are insured and while getting the little treatment, uninsured spend lots of money.Almost $30 billion is the amount that uninsured Americans will spend from their pocket. They will also receive $56 billion in uncompensated care in the year 2008. The word uncompensated care means health care received which is neither paid for by the uninsured or health insurers.

The report took into account two types of people-insured and uninsured and looked at medical spending among these to types of people.

Some findings -

• - uninsured people received less health care
• - Average medical cost for uninsured is $1,686 whereas the same cost is $3,915 for the insured people.
• - Uninsured pay 35 percent (Average of $583) of the total cost but the insured pay only 17 percent ($681)

Even after paying a bigger amount of money from the pocket, the uninsured are actually getting lesser health care.

The uncompensated bill is paid by the Federal Government. It pays three-quarters ($43 billion) of such bills.

If all the uninsured people gain health care coverage, then people who are uninsured will spend $122.6 billion. This estimate is for 2008 only. The cost of covering all the uninsured Americans will be low now and will keep increasing as the time passes by.

While paying the uncompensated bill, Federal government pays three-quarters ($43 billion). The total paid amount is divided as -

 $18 billion - special payments to hospitals (Medicare and Medicaid)

$15 billion - tax appropriations and indigent care programs; and

$10 billion- the Veterans Health Administration, and other direct-care programs.