Nikiel Illinois

Health Insurance

I believe that health insurance is a very expensive product that should be changed in the future.

Dear Future President,

I know you may have a lot to cover being the new president, but I would appreciate if you could read my letter on how you should decrease the prices for health insurance. I believe that health insurance is a complicated product that needs to be changed for the better so that it does not hurt the people it was intended for.

There are many different health insurance companies that provide a range of different plans for health insurance coverage, however most of them offer very expensive prices. According to valuepenguin.com, the average cost for health insurance is $244 dollars per month. This would equal  $2,928 dollars per year, and if one were to stick with this plan for three years, it would equal $8,784 dollars. In addition, according to Business Insider many states are increasing premiums for 2017 with some state increases up to 117%. I live in Illinois, and premiums here are expected to rise by 43% for 2017.

Furthermore, many health insurance companies have more control over the decisions that should be made between the patients and their doctors. Tests, procedures, and certain medicines are “denied” because they are thought to be unnecessary or too expensive, and insurance companies are unwilling to pay for them. I believe that doctors should have more control over the decisions that they make for their patients. For example, today, if a doctor wanted to order a CT scan for a patient, the patient's health insurance company could then question the doctor on why the patient needs the CT scan. If the doctor doesn’t give the health insurance company a valid reason, the company could make the decision themselves and deny payment for the scan. I feel that doctors and the patients should make decisions on their own and should not let insurance companies determine their plan of action.

Lastly, I would like to point out that rising health insurance premiums are very bad for the economy. Many small businesses and larger companies provide health insurance for their employees. Raising the premiums on the policies is like an extra tax that the businesses have to pay. When companies have to pay more for health care coverage, it could lead to different outcomes. Some businesses could fire employees because they can not afford to pay the extra money for the increased premiums. Other companies may not hire any more workers, as it now becomes less profitable to do so. Still, other companies may decide not to increase their employees’ salaries, as there is no extra money to do so. All of these different outcomes may mean fewer jobs for people and more people out of work, which would have a bad outcome on the economy.

As our new president, I hope you will change health care coverage so that health insurance will be available to every citizen of the United States. It needs to be affordable for employers and citizens who pay privately for their insurance. Medical decisions should be brought back between doctors and their patients, while we still try to get rid of unnecessary tests and avoid expensive medications. This will be a very fine balancing act, and I wish you the very best of luck in trying to fix this broken system for the better of every citizen of the United States.

Sincerely,

Nikiel

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