
Insurance in the United States is complex. It has become so complicated and is undergoing so much vast change that there is no textbook that is adequate. It is like textbooks just stopped trying once Obamacare came to be. No textbook currently includes the implementation of Obamacare, CCO's, ACO's, or the new reality of Medicaid and Medicare. So this class uses the source materials from actual laws, consumer information, and some of the many interpretations put out to try to help providers cope with all of these new realities.
To start this course off right and get a foundation, take a look at the following document:
Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2014 (PDF)
The above document should provide you a preview of some of the complexities associated with health insurance in this country. As you review the document, see if you can answer the following questions:
- Which programs are considered government health insurance programs?
- What is private health insurance coverage?
- What is the definition of "insured"?
- What is one of the changes that occurred as a result of the ACA in 2010?
- Compare the number of people who had private health insurance coverage with people who had government coverage.
- Compare the number of people on Medicaid to those that had employer based insurance.
- How is age related to health insurance coverage?
- How is employment related to health insurance coverage?
- How is education related to health insurance coverage?
- How is household income related to health insurance coverage?
- How is poverty level related to health insurance coverage?
- How is marital status related to health insurance coverage?
- How is race related to health insurance coverage?
- How is citizenship related to health insurance coverage?
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What is Oregon's rate of uninsured?