Too Many Kids are Uninsured in the US

Access to healthcare in childhood has long term effects on health outcomes, but many children in the US are either uninsured or underinsured, meaning they often don’t have access to the care they need. Why is that and what can we do about it?

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Credits:
Aaron Carroll -- Writer
Meredith Danko – Social Media
Tiffany Doherty -- Writer and Script Editor
John Green -- Executive Producer
Stan Muller -- Director, Producer
Mark Olsen – Art Director, Producer

#healthcaretriage #health #insurance#truebill #personalfinance

[ahorrell]

As a New Zealander, I sometimes forget that America is basically a dystopia. Thanks for the reminder!

[CG_Hali]

As a Canadian, this is crazy and so messed up! Thanks for talking about this, doc! Though I think the real solution is Universal Health Care, not more insurance. People would pay less actually. But if that's all Americans will vote for (due to brainwashing), then yes more is needed for children.

[KristieMacLean]

My fam and I got denied subsidized health coverage even though we have literally no income right now because my husband is in school and I'm at home with the kids. They assumed we filled out the paperwork incorrectly. Now we have to wait until I start my new job at the end of the month to get coverage. It's ridiculous.

[djp]

We live in a dystopian nightmare where kids have to buy insurance. And kids also go into DEBT when they can't pay for school lunch. In the richest country in the world.

[NotHPotter]

God forbid we enact the obvious solution.

[Nzombii]

Too many Americans are “uninsured.” Insurance is a rapacious scam. We need real healthcare like European states. They have downsides but don’t be gaslit into thinking our system has justifiable costs, our system suffers from wait times too.

[Praisethesunson]

These kids need to pull themselves by their bootstraps if they want access to doctors.

My great grandpa worked in a coal mine to get access to the company doctor. Have these lazy kids even once considered working in coal mines?

[irinaphoenix]

Yep - you can't get a marketplace plan bc your employer offers health insurance, but you can't afford to actually use your employer's plan.

[steveh]

For those who don't know what underinsured means, here's an explanation from the Washington Post article that Dr. Carroll cited.
"21.3 percent of Americans have insurance so skimpy that they count as underinsured: Their out-of-pocket health-care expenses, excluding premiums, amount to at least 5 to 10 percent of household income. The limits in coverage mean their plans might provide little financial protection in a health-care crisis."

[pataki]

It’s almost like people should have access to healthcare.

[DtWolfwood]

wow it would be nice to have a deductible plan of only $5000 a year... The most affordable plan i can get is $900 a month HDP with an individual deductible of $7500 with a maximum out of pocket expense of $13500. Thats with a prescription cost of 10/30/100. Once you've maxed the deductible, its $40 copay for primary, $100 for a specialist. So yeah, fuck me if i ever get really sick.

[scotthendricks]

How anyone can look at a child and say they should get healthcare because they don't have enough money is beyond me. I'm more surprised that there are more Americans resorting to violent attacks when they're desperate.

[switchlaserflip]

I grew up in America with no insurance.

[grahamrankin]

Another reason to implement Universal Healthcare Insurance

[BTheBlindRef]

if you are going to use a vague term like "underinsured", could you at least provide your definition of it so we can put it in context?

[domtweed]

America can spend $1.5trillion on the F35 but not on universal healthcare.

[dennisbuswell]

Too Many Kids are Underemployed in the US!

[jojo-pk]

Once again the Europeans are dumbfounded by how bad and expensive health insurance is in a country that could easily afford to make it completely free to everyone.

[scotthendricks]

Have you tried not being American? Could help.

[SinHurr]

if(numKidUninsured + numAdultUninsured > 0)
{
title = true;
{