Health insurance forms an essential element in ensuring universal accessibility of healthcare and improvement of the general health of the population. The uninsured that lack health insurance cover is, therefore, more likely to have trouble accessing healthcare, particularly when in poor health. The uninsured are likely not to receive high-cost healthcare, visit a doctor, or be admitted to a hospital when sick and, therefore, are at risk of dying before they can receive medical attention. The lack of health cover arises mainly due to income disparities and inequalities in the population, and this scenario is the primary issue in health care today.
The uninsured mainly includes the working poor or low-income earners in the population, particularly the racial or ethnic minority groups. On average, the uninsured have lower academic achievements as compared to the rest of the population. In the US, for instance, there are 44 million uninsured people. Income is a major characteristic of the uninsured. Many of the uninsured cannot afford health cover due to financial constraints. The low-income earners cannot afford even to pay for the employer-sponsored healthcare cover and, therefore, remain uninsured. Most of the uninsured have part-time employment as part-time laborers with no health benefits.
Most of the uninsured have below-average academic attainment, and consequently, they can only get lower-skilled jobs, which have fewer medical benefits hence making the majority of the uninsured. In addition, the workers in informal employment are ineligible for Medicaid or Medicare, leaving them uninsured. Apart from the high cost of insurance, which discourages many low-income persons from getting insurance cover, the perceived necessity of health cover and employer-sponsored coverage determine health cover. The uninsured have limited or no access to quality healthcare, which arises primarily due to the high cost of obtaining health cover. Despite the importance of health insurance coverage, the majority of the uninsured cannot afford health coverage because they have low incomes.