Universal Health Coverage in the U.S.: The Surrounding Debate By Hunter Bershtein Edited By Michelle Lu
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is a health coverage policy where people have access to the full range of quality health services they need, regardless of when and where they need them, and without financial burden. Nearly all the wealthiest countries have adopted a UHC system, with the exception of the United States. Instead, the U.S. currently has a mixed healthcare system. Private or market-based insurance coverage accounts for most of the coverage in the U.S. Private insurance is sometimes paid fully out-of-pocket but usually subsidized by employers. On the other hand, public, government-funded
programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, provide a small amount of public coverage for those who would otherwise not be able to afford quality medical services. Medicare coverage is structured to help those over 65, while Medicaid coverage is designed for those with low income. Although Medicaid usually covers anyone whose household income falls below 138% of the federal poverty line, some states have additional age, family, and disability requirements. In addition to the low-income requirement, for 10 of the 50 states, you must be 65 or older, under 19, pregnant, living with a disability, or an adult caring for a child to qualify for Medicaid. These ten states are known
as states without Medicaid expansion. Private, market-based health insurance is expensive, with an average out-of-pocket cost of $5,724 per year for an individual plan, as reported in a 2023 USA Today article. As such, most people who rely on private health insurance have employer-sponsored plans, which have an average outof-pocket cost of $1,401 per year, as reported in the same article. According to The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research, in 2019, 6% of U.S. citizens received coverage through private health insurance not provided by an employer, while 50% pulse 16
