Insurance in The United States

Health care in the United States is of top quality, but very costly, in fact one of the most expensive in the world. This makes it difficult for the unemployed or poor to afford health insurance or medical treatment, the number of uninsured people in America is at around 15% of the population. This has resulted from a laissez faire philosophy of government that is popular in the United States.

There are publically funded health insurance schemes, called Medicaid and Medicare, but their coverage only extends principally to those over 65, those who are disabled, or completely impoverished. There is no free medical treatment in the US, it must be paid for either by the patient or by his health insurance company. Because of the high cost, this could mean a financial disaster for the uninsured. Foreign students who attend school in the US are required to have a health insurance policy.

Health care premiums from health insurance companies in the United States are also very expensive, but some employers do offer to split the cost with their employees. Some foreign health insurance policies can be extended to the US but the high cost of treatment in the US will be much higher than the insurer is used to paying and often the US is specifically excluded from foreign insurance policies.