Health Care System in California

 

The economical crisis has caused huge effects in many respects on the United States of America. The economy of the country has not seen such a state for a very long time. The Californian health care system is not exempt of these circumstances. Nearly seven million Californians lack some form of health insurance. A huge part of those people who do have insurance are under-insured, meaning that many procedures or benefits aren’t covered at all, or partially covered at best. In fact, the United States is the only industrialized country that doesn’t have a health care insurance system that covers everyone. This is quite an issue, obviously, especially in California where deficits have been substantial and one of the possible remedies would be to cut health care even further.

The budget deficit

California is facing a budget deficit of potentially 40 billion dollars over the next one and a half years.  This has to be compensated for somehow, and the options that have been considered were cutting down on the health services and other social programs, as well as raising taxes. However, the Republicans have signed an agreement promising not to raise taxes at any cost, even if it meant cutting down on health services. This is not beneficial to anyone and many people cannot be sure they will ever receive appropriate treatment for their medical condition. Governor Schwarzenegger has repeatedly called for substantial change as well as compromises between parties that would reform the health program and ensure adequate coverage for everyone, but the outcome hasn’t been satisfactory. The number of people who wish to apply for MediCal, California’s primary health insurance system, is greater than ever, because those people who lost their job and aren’t covered anymore become more and more. Also, doctors won’t accept anyone who is insured with MediCal anymore, because they are unable to pay the costs they should be paying.

Plans for the future

Since the whole world, including America, is in such a huge recession and the impact is enormous, there is not a lot that could save the situation. The economic crisis is not over yet and it keeps taking its toll. It is quite clear that while the times are bad and recession is strong, even worse times are yet to come. In the near future, Schwarzenegger wants to start firing state employees, those people with very low income who work with the elderly or the disabled. This would impair the Californian health system further, as well as further endangering those people that are already at the greatest risk, the ones with very low incomes who would least be able to pay for their own medical treatments should the need arise. It is estimated that California will soon not be able to pay its own bills anymore, and there is not a lot the state can do to save that situation. The state might not be able to come up with any extra money to revive the health care system at all. People might end up spending even more money than if taxes were reduced. If taxes were reduced, people could afford paying for their health insurance themselves, at least partly, and no one would have to spend considerable amounts of taxes in hidden form, by paying for health care.


To conclude, there is really no sense in hoping California might have more money in the near future. All we can hope is that, from the 50 billion dollars they plan on spending just to jump-start the economy, a great enough part goes to California and its shaky health system. It is very wise, if you are living in California, to check whether you are fully insured and if you are not, what is missing and how you could cover that. In any case it is always suggestible to take care of one owns health, especially in a country with so many overweight people as in America. This can be already reached by adding some health supplements to your daily diet.  We could also hope that the parties will find a consensus soon and stop debating over their petty differences, but rather devise a plan that would help both the citizens and  the state out of being broke. Hopefully, everyone will work together for a new beginning and someday soon, America, just like so many countries, will provide health insurance for every single of its residents.