Healthcare

I keep seeing pictures online of extremely expensive hospital bills for seemingly inexpensive procedures, such as $60,156.24 for appendicitis, or $153,161.25 for getting bit by a rattlesnake. With prices like these, it is of no surprise to me that many people choose to go untreated or ignore the problem, rather than being with a bill that is over one hundred thousand dollars. This effect is certainly amplified in those individuals who cannot afford insurance or whose employer does not provide health insurance benefits. This means that they are then responsible for the bill in full. This made me think of the “Health Insurance and Years of Life Lost” activity for the healthcare class. Unsurprisingly, the areas in which less people have access to health insurance have the most years of potential life loss. Some areas do not fit this trend, such as western Texas. I believe that this is the case because there is a very low population in those areas, so they do not have a large effect on the years of life lost. I think similar conclusions can be drawn to other less populated areas that lack health insurance but do not have a large effect on years of life lost. It seems as if the region that has the most years of life lost is the southeast and portions of the midwest. I found a map that shows income for each county in the United States, and sure enough, that region is the poorest region in the country. What can be done to increase life expectancy in poorer areas?