America’s Current Health Care Policy: Don’t Get Sick
A new report from the Commonwealth Fund reveals that health insurance trends are just getting worse. Even for those who are familiar with the uninsurance problem, these numbers, from a survey of 4,350 adults, are startling. Here’s who’s affected:
- Moderate income Americans
- Working Americans
- Insured Americans whose coverage is shrinking
- The American economy
And the consequences are felt everywhere: One in five of all American families is now trying to pay off a medical bill. One in five. The middle class is getting punished by inadequate health insurance coverage.
The Commonwealth Fund’s report suggests a growing and widespread middle class vulnerability:
Moderate income Americans. 41% of working-age Americans with annual incomes between $20,000 and $40,000 – a total of 48 million – went without health insurance for at least part of 2005. This is a substantial increase from 28 percent in 2001.
Working Americans. 67% of these 48 million Americans were in families with at least one full-time working adult. Steady employment is no longer a protection from uninsurance and its associated health and financial risks.
Insured Americans facing high medical bills. Medical bills are pushing people into debt. 21% of working adults have unpaid medical bills to pay off, and 34% had debt or problems paying bills in the past year.
Preventive care. Americans without health insurance were far more likely to go without preventive care and screenings for cancer and heart disease.
Managing chronic conditions. Uninsured adults with chronic conditions were twice as likely to have had an overnight ER visit as those insured with chronic conditions.
The American economy. Even as the economy improves, these alarming trends continue and threaten future economic productivity. HCA Inc. blamed an 8.5% decline in first quarter earnings on a 13% rise in uninsured hospital admissions.
Can politicians continue to ignore these growing numbers? Health care reform isn’t about some distant “them” any more. It is about all of us, and we can’t wait much longer for change.
Son of Elliott? Tell him I said hi.
Max B. Sawicky
http://maxspeak.org/mt
max@maxspeak.org
April 26, 2006 1:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I posted this at another article on health care, but it bears repeating here.
I pay for my own health insurance, even though I am employed, because I can get coverage cheaper on my own than what my employer offers.
Why is that?
I don't know, but it's not for the reason you probably expect.
No, I don't work for a little mom-and-pop outfit. I work for one of the largest military/civilian contractors in the country. When they took over our contract last year, our insurance premiums quadrupled. Yes, quadrupled, to over a thousand dollars a month.
In other words, approximately 1/3 of my total salary.
A health insurance tax paying for universal health care would cost everyone a lot less than a third of their pay.
But the horror of socialized medicine is ingrained into the American psyche. It's going to take years of reeducation to change that, and reeducation can't take place in this media environment, much less when Democrats depend on health insurance corporate campaign contributions to get elected.
Step 1 is get the money out of our election cycle. End the system of legalized bribery we know as political contributions.
Step 2 is move our elections back into the public domain and out of the hands of private corporations with political agendas.
Without Steps 1 and 2, step 3, universal health care (as opposed to 'affordable health insurance') isn't going to happen.
April 26, 2006 2:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
We are a strange country! We panic at the thought of any kind of "socialistic" program, while loving our Social Security, which is a "socialistic" program. We have been brainwashed to believe that each of us got where we are with no public sector help, and all of us should be manly enough to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps. We also believe that we have a great relationship with our employer, and are fully capable of negotiating our own wages and benefits, with no help from unions. All of this means our news media have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams!
Hoppy in Sacramento
April 26, 2006 4:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hoppy:
"...and all of us should be manly enough to pull ourselves up by [our own] bootstraps."
I am continually amazed at how well the neocons have done at convincing conservative Christians that Social Darwinism is a Christian concept.
Find the Truth. Do Justice.
April 27, 2006 4:41 AM | Reply | Permalink