Border region lacks health care insurance

The U.S.-Mexico border region has the highest uninsurance rates than any other part of the country. Those in need of health care are increasingly burdened by the hurdles that await them from the United States health care system.

Hospitals and health facilities depend on patient's health insurance coverage to reimburse their medical expenses. Two primary reasons the region lacks coverage are preexisting medical conditions and low incomes.

Major private health insurance companies like Cigna, Blue Cross and Humana require patients to undergo examinations and check potential client's medical history thoroughly before any type of coverage is provided. People suffering from diabetes, obesity and other health ailments are almost always denied.

Those living without insurance risk financial disaster if a health catastrophe occurs with themselves or a child. Medical bankruptcy is a problem affecting more Americans every year.

With no surgery, the cost of major surgery is nearly impossible to afford with the average Hispanics income in the region (roughly $15,000). This leaves those in need with few solutions in a desperate time.

Medical services should be provided to patients, but when do hospitals step in and put finances over providing health services? Billions of dollars are owed to hospitals due to uncompensated care in the United States.

In 2004, more than $40 billion is the estimated cost of uncompensated care. There are a lot of questions and few answers for fixing the U.S. health care system.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2000 nearly 30 percent of inhabitants living in U.S. border counties lacked health insurance.

There are 45 million people, nearly a third of all Americans, living without health insurance, according to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

A thorough examination of the health problems in the region: United States-Mexico Border Health Access: Challenges and Opportunities