The POOR MIDDLE CLASS HEALTHCARE INSURANCE CRISIS

This post was originally written before The Trump Administration came into power. One of their campaign promises was to repeal and replace Obamacare. At this time, it is not known what the outcome will be. But an article in TalkPoverty.com indicates that a completely new plan could decimate Medicaid for seniors and people with disabilities.

The Healthcare Insurance Crisis

There is a Poor Middle Class healthcare insurance crisis in this country. In fact, this issue is of growing concern. The lack of sufficient medical care coverage for many people is the cause. The cost for others is also of great concern. The deepest concern is felt by the poor and poor middle class. Here’s the reason. With the election of the new President, the Obamacare Program was promised to be discarded and replaced. But now in spite of that promise, no one knows what would or could replace it.

At present closer examination, lawmakers see that Obamacare will not be so easy to repeal and replace. Instead of such an extreme measure, they are suggesting that refinement may be a more reasonable solution. But with the new President, this could be even more of a challenge. The reason is that he is not in favor of compromise. He would rather make a sweeping changes. That would mean erasing the blackboard and starting over from scratch. According to the map in Figure 1 below, Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion could be in jeopardy. This could impact healthcare negatively for many people.

Medicare and Medicaid

Essentially, the differences between Medicare and Medicaid is fairly straightforward. In other words, eligibility for Medicare is at age 62. Contrary to Medicare, Medicaid benefits are based on financial need and disabilities rather than by age. In addition, individuals above a certain income level pay a monthly premium for Medicare. Not only that, they have a co-pay for medical services. On the other hand, Medicaid recipients do not have a co-pay. Let’s go to Wikipedia for more thorough definitions of Medicare and Medicaid.

The Wikipedia definitions for Medicare and Medicaid

The Prospects for Poor Middle Class Healthcare

There are added benefits to Medicaid over Medicare. Therefore, maintaining Medicaid is a major concern for poor middle class people’s health care insurance. Individuals on Medicaid have:
• a zero monthly premium
• 100% coverage for primary medical care
• referred coverage at no charge
• minimal charge for prescriptions