Healthcare Insurance Industry

Essay by crehneeUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, December 2008

download word file, 11 pages 5.0

To justify the cost of health care in the United States it's important to look at the personal income of each individual. The mean average of income for a male individual in the United States is $40,798 and for a female $31,223. The reason this information is important is because most Americans purchase or obtain healthcare through there employer and the quality of that healthcare can be determined based upon the amount of income they can bring into the household. What this means is that a man well above the poverty line at $60,000 a year is going to be able to afford and purchase better healthcare than his lower income counterpart. Elementary, you may say but this system is unique in that it only affects Americans. (DeNavas-Walt, 2005, Income, poverty and health insurance coverage in the United states p. 3) Typically the individual who makes more money would be able to afford the higher coverage which results in a lower priced co pay and annual deductible.

Alternatively the individual with less income is forced to pay a higher co pay and deductible for a lesser amount of coverage. Historically, most Americans obtain coverage through employment however that is changing as well as competition between healthcare companies and insurance company's battle over the consumer.

One of the Economic indicators in any business market trend is caused by the Federal Reserve actions. A question come to mind: How long does it take monetary policy to have an effect on the economy? The stated goals of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee are to maintain price stability and sustainable economic growth. It means the Federal Reserve will try to minimize inflation or at least hold inflation to an amount that will not change most people decisions. That particular rate has been between...