Healthcare Insurance -- Future Implications Research Paper

Meanwhile, without any competition, such as n the form of a public healthcare insurance system, the private healthcare insurance industry also continually increases premium fees virtually at will (Kennedy, 2006; Reid, 2009). Furthermore, by refusing policies to high-risk patients, private health insurers essentially "cherry pick" the lowest risk patients while leaving the most expensive medical services to be furnished at the public's expense by public funds available to provide healthcare for low-income individuals (Kennedy, 2006; Reid, 2009). That is why, at the very least. The future of American healthcare insurance must include a public option (Kennedy, 2006).

The Issue of Government Healthcare Insurance Lobbying

The principal way that the private healthcare insurance industry maintains its control over American healthcare is through political lobbying of government representatives (Kennedy, 2006). In fact, there are approximately six healthcare industry lobbyists in Washington for every publicly elected representative. Throughout the 2009 negotiations in Washington over healthcare reform, Republican congressmen in particular stymied the attempts of the Obama administration to establish meaningful and comprehensive healthcare reform, largely because they were completely beholden to their campaign contributors within the healthcare industry (Reid, 2009). That is why, if U.S. healthcare is ever to be genuinely reformed in a way that brings costs into line with their actual expenses, it will probably be necessary to prohibit the type of political campaign contributions and lobbying that has enabled the for-profit private healthcare insurance industry to retain its stranglehold on American society and financial welfare.

References

Kennedy, E. (2006). America: Back on Track. Viking: New York.

Reid, T. (2009).…