It comes as no surprise that the U.S. healthcare system has had some major issues and is known for being expensive and dysfunctional. There are many disparities within the system based on who can and cannot afford or acquire healthcare, and as a result, many Americans are not insured at all. 

 A survey taken by Gallup and West Health found that 44% of American adults struggle to pay for healthcare and 93% feel like what they are paying for in terms of care is not worth the price. 

Why should anyone have to worry about going bankrupt if they find out they have a serious illness? 

 Two months ago, I was diagnosed with celiac disease – an autoimmune disease that has led to some serious complications with my health. As a full-time student, I was told by the hospital that the cost of my bills and procedures would come to a grand total of $15,314. I did not only hear from the hospital, but have received a call each day as of the last two weeks from the collection’s office because the state of Illinois gives you 30 days until the hospital can send medical bills to collections. 

Having out-of-state insurance does not help matters when it comes to coverage as the copay alone is $100 each time I have to go to an immediate care. 

In 2018, the New York Times reported that one of the other major issues in the U.S is the burden of insane drug prices that target the most sick Americans. For a multiple sclerosis patient, her insurance told her that to pay for Tecfidera – a prescription medication necessary for treatment – the cost would be $1,000 a month. These high drug prices have left some patients feeling more helpless than the original diagnosis. 

So, what happens for those who are uninsured and have to pay out-of-pocket for the ridiculous prices of prescription medications and hospital visits? 

Studies show that numerous uninsured individuals will instead refuse getting the necessary care due to the costly out-of-pocket visits for fear of landing in some sort of medical debt. A 2017 study done from the National Library of Medicine showed that uninsured adults were less than half as likely to have an in-person hospital visit, 3%, as insured adults, 7.6%. With nearly 30 million uninsured Americans, it becomes hard to justify that there is not a larger issue at play with how inaccessible affordable health care really is in the U.S. 

We know it is possible for changes to be made to reform the healthcare system, as many other countries already have. Some countries like Denmark have a much more developed healthcare system in comparison to the U.S. This is because their system provides high quality service with equal access and the majority of the cost is financed by general taxes. 

Americans should not have to live in fear of whether or not they are going to be able to pay next month’s rent because of the high cost of prescription meds or a hospital visit. The cost of living is higher than it has ever been and this is why now more than ever we need equal, affordable and universal access to health care.