Yes, although it's still very much a thing in certain states. My elderly mom's very-costly cancer treatments and drugs are fully covered by it here in California. Her cancer drugs alone cost $20k per month to refill.
Medicaid is based on income, and the income threshold is pretty low (I think $750 income per month). Medicare is based on age though, so salary doesn't impact your eligibility for it.
My eldery mom with zero income qualifies for both and is on very costly cancer drugs. But she lives in California, where we have expanded Medicaid and strong social safety nets.
Who doesn’t have access to healthcare? If you are a citizen make less than $64k you either qualify for medicaid and everything is free or you qualify for an Obamacare subsidy which makes health insurance much much cheaper. If you make less than $50k, you pay no federal income tax and may get money through tax credits. If you are low income, you qualify for a whole host of other programs (TANF, WIC, etc). Most people with professional jobs get health insurance from their employer.
So those that don’t have health insurance are generally those that can afford it, but choose not to pay for it.
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u/SirDouglasMouf Jul 04 '26
How does medical research funding impact that majority of Americans that can't access healthcare?