The U.S. Healthcare System, explained
Right now, we’re mainly a mixture of private insurance and public insurance – what are called third party payers. They’re called that because involved in a healthcare interaction you have a doctor, a patient, and then insurance, so they are the “third party” involved. Think of it as a third wheel: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Third+Wheel. Very few people in this country pay for ALL of their medical care, including those requiring hospital admission, with cash on hand.
Tutorials on how the U.S. Healthcare system works[ul]
[]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN-MkRcOJjY
[]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMHxxvbzFqc
[]https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/brookings-institution/introduction-to-healthcare
[]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klR7TCPQh0c[/ul]
Currently, our only “government” sponsored health insurance plans are these 3, which are mainly thru the federal govt. although there is some state involvement as well:[ul]
[]Medicare — for those over 65: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_(United_States)
[]Medicaid — for those who are poor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicaid
[li]SCHIP – for children under a certain income level: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Children%27s_Health_Insurance_Program[/ul][/li]Everyone else buys private insurance (Blue Cross-Blue Shield, Aetna, Humana, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, etc.) whether that’s as an individual or as a job benefit offered thru their employer.
How health insurance works[ul]
[]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4-pklsDT_Q
[]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-58VD3z7ZiQ
[]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-58VD3z7ZiQ[/ul]
Some problems with our current healthcare system (no system in the world is 100% perfect) in terms of what you need to be aware of[list]
[li] http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2015/oct/us-health-care-from-a-global-perspective (no need to understand the nitty gritty – just understand the major bolded headings as to what we are getting for our healthcare system at least from the patient perspective)[/li][]http://www.businessinsider.com/whats-wrong-with-healthcare-in-the-us-2014-9
[*]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klR7TCPQh0c