Dear Future President,

Healthcare is not synonymous with insurance coverage.

Americans tend to confuse the two as being equivalent, when in reality they are completely unalike. Healthcare is classified in a UC Berkeley PowerPoint as the “Provision of Medical Services by Private Physicians and Hospitals, Community Clinics, and Public Hospitals and Clinics,” a definition that the population needs to comprehend. Any individual can receive healthcare in the United States without having health insurance, yet a majority of America does not realize this. People are led to believe that they are required to have health insurance in order to receive their care, but this is a false statement that is promoted by the media. An individual can be severely injured, rushed to the hospital, and receive immediate emergency care whether or not they have paid for health coverage. Health insurance only provides a promise that certain portions of medical expenses will be covered for the provider. People who buy health insurance are giving their money to an insurance pool to obtain contractual levels of care, which is essentially a redistribution of wealth. Insurance contracts define the types and amount of care that is covered by the specific insurance plan.

The hard earned dollars that healthy individuals pay towards insurance plans such as Obamacare, will be used not only for the individual, but also for any others who are in the insurance pool. Those who do not require medical attention and are paying for health insurance plans are actually losing their money. The insurance pools are made up of the premiums paid by the members, and when all of the money in the specific pool is spent on care, there are no remaining funds unless the insurance pool is replenished by other premiums. This system is problematic. When healthcare is needed most, there may not be funds to treat the individuals. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), states that every American individual must have some type of health insurance. Health insurance premium costs are rising, resulting fewer individuals being able to able to afford the insurance, leading to government bailout or insufficient insurance pools.

In your future policies, please take into consideration that there is a difference between access to care and payment for care.

Sincerely,

Aaron Rohrer