The cost of health care is sky high in the United States and ensuring that your health is taken care of in the event that you become sick can be quite costly. This especially holds true for children and in such an expensive climate it can become desperate, especially if the child does not have health insurance. With over 47 million uninsured Americans, the number of children should be staggering. This article will set out to address children who do not have health insurance and why it is extremely important for them to have it.

Health insurance for children is very important as it is during the formulative years that the child is most open to sickness that could affect their lives. Health insurance provides the basic aspects of medical care that every child should need. These are doctor visits, immunizations, hospitalizations and emergency room visits. These are very important to children as it helps with their development and they are able to find any problems that could be easily treated. Uninsured children do not have the same benefits. They do not get the proper care that is needed and often end up being sick for something that could be prevented.

A lot of children who are uninsured often miss school or perform poorly. With no insurance, a child may fall victim to a lot of treatable illnesses. Preventable illnesses like asthma are something that could be easily treated if a child had insurance. Often time children with asthma and no insurance end up in the hospital for severe asthma attacks; ones that could be helped if they had the preventative care that goes along with full health insurance. These same children who have these treatable illnesses also underperform at school. This is because they often spend so much time in the hospital that they miss out. This could also be that many have vision problems and because it isn't treated, many can't see or read the board properly and fall behind.

Despite many children not having health insurance, this does not mean they are denied health services. The only issue with this, it is very costly and inefficient. If the child has a serious condition and has to go to a public hospital, then the cost of treatment would be left on the parents. Health insurance circumvents this as the child would be covered. Many parents can't afford the cost and that means it is passed along to taxpayers.

In the end what is pointed out is that it is very important for children to have health insurance. They are at a disadvantage if they become sick and have no form of protection. With health insurance they get basic health services, which should enable them to develop properly. When they are insured, it is proven that they will perform better than those who are uninsured for many reasons. Public health care is not up to par with care that could be provided if they had health insurance. It is also very expensive and not only leaves the child, but society at a disadvantage.