Kyminis E.

Vialet
Hickory Hall 9201 University City Blvd. Charlotte, North Carolina 28223 kvialet@uncc.edu

March 20, 2013

Beth Howard Women's Health Magazine 33 E. Minor Street Emmaus, PA 18098

Dear Ms. Howard,

On January 20, 2009 President Elect Barack Obama was sworn in to the white house. During his campaign, one of President Obamas main platforms was health insurance. He decided that too many Americans were without health insurance and thus maid a goal to make it more affordable. In 2010 President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. We are currently in 2013 and still have one more year until this is in full effect. (Obama Care Facts). But Wwhat will this plan really do for Americans? Will insurance truly become more affordable? How much more Americans will now be able to afford insurance? What causes insurance prices to initially be so? The main questions should actually be; How much more Americans will now be able to afford health insurance insuranceand what causes insurance premiums to initially be so high ? ? According to PBS, approximately 44 million people in the United States are without health insurance and another 38 million have inadequate health insurance. In your article you discussed five reasons behind why insurance is so high. But these reasons are beyond the publics control. Why is it that doctors are afraid to get sued? Were they not trained properly? Why is insurance higher for females than males? Your article discusses many issues that deal with the training of healthcare providers and also how insurance companies run their business. In the article it states that five reasons for rising healthcare cost are that Your doctor is freaked about getting sued, one third of healthcare fees paid to insurance companies all go toward administrative costs, if

Kyminis E. Vialet
Hickory Hall 9201 University City Blvd. Charlotte, North Carolina 28223 kvialet@uncc.edu you are a female you are likely to receive higher premiums because of how often you visit the doctor, Your insurer would rat her pay to treat a disease than to prevent one, and Your doctor is paid for how much he does for you not how well he cares for you. This article also notes five ways to lower your costs: Negotiate with your provider, Consider COBRA carefully, Keep records of your health care expenses, Get you insurer to pay for more coverage, and Find an advocate. Although all of these are methods for lowering insurance rates; this still will not solve the problem of unaffordable insurance prices. The insurance system needs to be completely revamped. Why should females be forced to pay higher insurance rates simply because they are females? Why do doctors have such a feared of being sued? And arent doctors supposed to care more about the overall well being of their patients rather than how much money they can make off of someone? The reasons giving for high insurance rates all goes back to proving that greed is money and money is power. Doctors are so concerned with how much money they would be able to make if they continuously make you visit them. Insurance companies are concerned with just running their big business rather than taking care of their clientele. If Americans first learn to value their health and take care of their bodies we will all have a healthier community. Secondly doctors need to trust in the training giving to them in medical school, four years of medical school should be long enough to know what health issues you are dealing with in a patient. Doctors should not have such a drastic fear of messing up, if you were trained well, that you have to over-charge patients thus overcharging insurance companies. This is called malpractice. Malpractice is a dereliction of professional duty or a failure to exercise an ordinary degree of professional skill or learning by one (as a physician) rendering professional services which results in injury, loss, or damage (Marriam-Webster). In other words it is a doctors failure to treat a patient properly for a sickness, injury, or other related illness. When they over charge, then, us again the clientele, have a hire insurance premium. This is a never ending cycle. Insurance rates also should not be determined on your gender. The rates should be determined on your actual health and well being. Not on gender, age or race but your health as an

Kyminis E. Vialet
Hickory Hall 9201 University City Blvd. Charlotte, North Carolina 28223 kvialet@uncc.edu individual. Females are usually forced to pay higher health insurance premiums than males, simply because women ranging from ages 19-55 tend to use healthcare services more. Women in this age category are in child bearing age and are also more likely to do annual checkups and medical exams. According to several sources, including the New York Times, women pay thirtyone to fifty percent more in insurance premiums than men do. There is a lot that can be done about health insurance whether it is through government regulation and funding, individual ways like the ones mentioned in the article, or a total revamp of the healthcare system. But something needs to be done and soon. We cannot keep allowing people to go without proper medical care simply because they cannot afford health insurance. Although this article provides individual ways to fix the problem it still wont fix health care in America. Sincerely,

Kyminis E. Vialet