Uninsured Americans are seeking out other healthcare options as their sizes grow and healthcare reform looms. 

 

“Nearly 46 million Americans, or 18 percent of the population under the age of 65, were without health insurance in 2007,” says the US Census Bureau in its most recent data. With rising poverty levels, this number is sure to rise.

 

Many jobs that previously offered healthcare benefits have revoked them, according to the National Coalition on Healthcare (NCHC).

In even larger numbers, employees who could previously afford their premiums are facing a 117 percent increase between 1999 and 2007 on employee spending for health insurance coverage, according to the NCHC.

However, the problem isn’t just big numbers, it’s also right at home.

Chelsea Niven, a 19-year old Yavapai student, feels the pain of being uninsured daily. “I think about [insurance] because it’s something I should have, but it’s just too stressful,” says Niven.
Niven is currently in need of a root canal and a procedure to remove her four wisdom teeth.

It gives me headaches, it hurts so bad,” she says.

The two procedures total over $2,000 without insurance; as a student and part time waitress, Niven cannot afford that.

Between living and school expenses, insurance simply isn’t an option for Niven. She says, “I have too much to pay for already… insurance rates are just out of hand.”  According to Niven, she hopes to save up enough money to have the root canal procedure and eventually have her wisdom teeth removed two at a time.

“You don’t want to get sick because you worry about how much it costs.”

In the meantime Niven sticks to over the counter pain medicine and hopes she doesn’t get sick. She says, “You don’t want to get sick because you worry about how much it costs.”

Other options do exist, though. The government funded Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) “is Arizona’s Medicaid agency that offers health care programs to serve Arizona residents,” according to the AHCCCS website.

Dependent on income, an uninsured Arizona resident can receive partial or complete medical coverage according to the website.

On campus there is another option, the Yavapai Health Center. Yavapai College is one of the few community colleges lucky enough to run such a program.

If you are a registered student you can receive treatment from the health center for only $5 a visit, not including lab fees or prescriptions, according to Rebecca Oldani one of the three nurse practitioners at the Yavapai Health Center.

“We can do nearly anything a doctor’s office can do,” says Oldani. “We’re only charging you the price to cover what we spend.”

Oldani believes that the health center can provide a huge relief in stress to students who, like Niven, are uninsured.

“Most things are minor problems,” she says. “It costs a huge amount to go to the ER and for some people it’s just not an option.”

The Health Center sees nearly 120 people a week in the 20 hours it is open. And of those, at least 85 percent are uninsured, according to Oldani.

“Most insurance is not adequate, not affordable,” says Oldani.

The Health Center hopes to alleviate some of the pressure in a difficult economic time and hopes to continue growing past its 500 percent increase in growth since the first year, according to Oldani.

Along with these solutions comes hope of impending reform.

Ongoing discussions regarding universal healthcare and other possibilities are up in the air.
A proposed reform offers relatively cheap individual policies with the condition that a person will be fined for not having one, according to the Washington Post.

Whether it is mandatory insurance, free standing clinics, government programs or simply payment plans, the uninsured masses are seeking solutions.