Reference no: EM133812976

Assignment:

Case: You've been hired as a summer intern to work for a U.S. Representative from a southern state. The Representative is a committee member investigating "the state of the uninsured" and is particularly interested in understanding how significant numbers of people in the United States have health insurance for a while, then become uninsured for a period, and then regain insurance coverage again. Here is one of many examples:

Issue: Tariq is a 39-year-old man working as a health plan executive. He has been hired by a post-acute healthcare system to become their Chief Operating OKicer. However, there are some scheduling and organizational challenges, causing a three-month gap between when Tariq leaves his current health plan job and starts his new role at the healthcare system.

Additionally, once Tariq begins his employment at the health system, he won't receive health insurance right away. The health system has a policy that requires all executives to wait for three months before their health plan becomes active and provides coverage.

After leaving his job at the health plan, Tariq decides not to buy COBRA health insurance because it would be very costly - $1,780 per month - and the health plan would still be from his previous employer. Instead, he chooses not to have health insurance for a total of six months. Tariq believes that paying $10,680 for six months of COBRA insurance is too expensive, so he decides to take the risk of being without health insurance during that time and save money instead.

Two months after leaving his previous job, Tariq starts experiencing a neurological disease that is causing severe neuropathy in his legs. He pays $675 from his own pocket to visit a physician for the neuropathy issue. To help with his pain, the doctor suggests prescription drugs that will cost Tariq $750 every month.

Since the neurological disease aKects Tariq's skeletal system, the physician also recommends an MRI, which will add an extra cost of $2,900 for Tariq. Depending on the MRI results, there might be further medical expenses and prescription costs that Tariq will need to pay out-of-pocket.

Assignment: Identify three challenges or diKiculties that Tariq is currently facing. After that, propose one solution along with a clear explanation for the staK of the U.S. Representative to consider. Remember that this solution should be part of a larger eKort to address the issue of Tariq's lack of health insurance, considering that many people, like Tariq, experience periods without health insurance due to the structure of the U.S. health system.