Health_Care_Crisis

HEALTHCARE CRISIS!!! By Raymond Lopez Health care is a topic that is very important to most if not all American families; After all it involves our families well being. We want the peace of mind to know that if something happened to us or our loved ones it would be covered by our insurance. Despite this fact many people are actually unaware of how bad our health care system has become. There are proposals being discussed in congress right now to try and alleviate the problems, but they are lacking in support. So why should you care' Health insurance costs have gone up in recent times. It has become a financial burden to many American families. Even some families that do have health insurance often do not have enough to cover their medical bills. • In 2007, 25 million Americans were underinsured. (Source: Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey 2007) • From 2001 to 2005 the amount people pay for health insurance increased 30 percent. During this same period income only increased 3 percent. (Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) • In 2008, the total annual premium for a typical family health insurance plan offered by employers was $12,680. (Source: Kaiser/HRET Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits, 2008) • Healthcare expenditures in the United States exceed $2 trillion a year. (SOURCE: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group ;) The federal budget, in comparison, is $3 trillion a year. Underinsured is defined by researchers at the Commonwealth Fund as “people who spent 10 percent or more of their income on medical expenses (or 5 percent if they were low income), or people who had deductibles that equaled at least 5 percent of the family annual income”. It is often the case that people with health insurance still do not get proper medical treatment due to the fear of not being covered or paying a high deductible. This means they forgo doctor visits, refuse lab tests and scans such as MRIs, and they often do not refill their prescriptions. Even after all this they still may owe money from medical bills. • Over the past four years the number of people who are underinsured has grown 60 percent to 25 million. (Source: Health Affairs journal, Study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund) • The fastest growing segments of the underinsured are upper and middle income families. The rate of underinsured for those with incomes of $40,000 or more nearly tripled, to 11 percent. (Source: Health Affairs journal, Study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund) • The highest rate of underinsurance is in Families with incomes under the poverty level (approx $20 thousand) have the highest rate of underinsurance, at 31 percent. (Source: Health Affairs journal, Study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund) • 45 percent of the adults in the survey reported that they had a hard time paying their bills, even with health insurance, and had been contacted by a collection agency or had to change their way of life in an effort to pay their medical bills. (Source: Health Affairs journal, Study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund) • Approximately 50 percent of personal bankruptcies are due to medical expenses. (Source: Health Affairs journal, Study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund) • According to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 28 percent of middle income families (annual family income between $30,000 and $75,000) stated that they were currently having a serious problem paying for healthcare or health insurance. Most Americans obtain their health insurance through their employer, but what if they are laid off' Where can Americans who are unemployed or whose jobs do not offer medical benefits get affordable health insurance' Our national unemployment rate is currently 10.2% and so far no one has been able to tell us when this recession will end. The unemployment rate does not even count the number of discouraged workers we have in our country. • In 2007, nearly 50 million Americans did not have health insurance. (Source: Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey 2007) What of those individuals who are fed up with their job but refuse to quite because it would leave their family uninsured' This is supposed to be the land of the free so why should we waste so many of our precious years shackled to a miserable job simply because we fear losing our health benefits' • Health care benefits are an important factor in either taking a new job or staying with a current job. Approximately 25 percent of employed individuals choose employment based on better health benefits. (Source: Kaiser Family Foundation) • Many co-habituating couples are getting married in order to provide their new spouse with access to health care benefits. (Source: Kaiser Family Foundation) • Retirees will need an estimated $635,000 (per couple over age 65) to cover healthcare costs in retirement. This amount is estimated to give a retired couple a 90 percent chance of having enough money to pay for their health expenses beyond what Medicare covers. (Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute) The U.S. has one of the lowest ranked health care systems in the world. We are the only industrialized nation that lacks some form of universal health care. Our health care expenditures are among the highest in the world. • Health care expenditures in the United States are the highest of any developed country, at 15.3% of GDP. The country with the next highest spending is Switzerland, at 11.6% of GDP. (Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) • The United States does not spend health care money efficiently. An estimated one-third of 2006 health care expenditures, about $700 billion or nearly 5% of GDP, did not improve health outcomes. (Source: Congressional Budget Office) • Prescription prices for drugs still under patent protections (as opposed to generic medications) are about 35% to 55% higher in the United States than they are in other countries. (Source: Congressional Budget Office) How many people right now are unknowingly walking around with cancer or some other serious medical condition' By the time their illness is discovered it will probably be too late. The U.S. spends huge sums of money treating chronic diseases, but does not give much effort for prevention of chronic diseases. • 75% percent of total health care spending in the United States in 2007 went towards the treatment of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and asthma. (Source: CMS) The rising cost of health care is not solely the health care industries fault; it is also our fault as a nation. Many people often do not exercise regularly while they continue to consume fattening and unhealthy foods which may lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Lots of people smoke which may lead to lung cancer and other lung problems. People drink alcohol in excess which may lead to liver disease. • Approximately half of all chronic diseases are linked to preventable problems including smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity. (Source: CDC) It’s not our place to tell anyone how to live their life; however what we can do is make sure people are educated and aware of the risks and problems they face when they live an unhealthy life style. We can help make healthy food more accessible to the public. Employers can maybe promote exercise events like company basketball tournaments. We can also encourage people to go to routine medical exams. Through these preventive actions we can greatly reduce health care spending. So what is the public option' The way it has been describe by politicians is similar to Medicare in that it will be funded by the government/public; however, unlike Medicare, there will be no age requirements. The basic idea is the government will run its own health insurance company and people who are interested in using it can sign up regardless of where or if they are employed. The public plan is expected to charge its users a good deal less than private plans charge. So how will the public option help to bring down the cost of private insurance' The answer is competition. The theory goes as follows: If the public option can provide similar or better health coverage for a lower price, as well as except people with pre-existing conditions, many people who couldn’t afford health insurance as well as those dissatisfied with their current health insurance plan will be willing to try it. At first most Americans will sit back and watch to see if this government run health care really works as intended. If successful many people will be interested in making the switch. The possibility of losing a huge share of their customers would force private health insurance companies to lower their prices and maybe even except people with mild pre-existing conditions. How is the government able to keep the coverage provided by the public option at a lower price' Well mainly because a publicly supported plan would be non-profit and the government wouldn’t have to spent money in marketing or advertising. The government also has some leverage in negotiating with pharmaceutical companies and getting lower prices on some medications. Some conservative are quick to call this plan socialism and dismiss it entirely. I would just like to remind them that our police forces, fire departments, military, community colleges, public schools, and postal service are all provided by the government and thus socialist. Some people are under the impression that if the public option passes they will have to give up their current health insurance; this is not true. The public option does not ban private health insurance companies from providing coverage to whoever wants it; the public option is just that, an option. It provides a cheaper alternative to those who can’t afford insurance through private companies. There have been some outrageous claims made by right wing politicians and talk show hosts against the public option. Claims such as “Death Panels” to decide who lives and dies; which by the way are complete fiction; have stirred up a small but vocal segment of the population. This segment of people bases their decisions off of emotions rather than logic. Many right wing politicians and talk show hosts claim the public option or government run health care wants to get in between you and your doctor and tell you what to do to your body. Ironically these same politicians and talk show hosts hope to ban abortion from most health insurance plans, which really would be getting between you and your doctor. Despite all the political rhetoric against the public option, it is a far better system then our current one. There is however one big kink in its armor, cost. Since it is a publicly supported system it is going to require our tax dollars to pay for it. Since we are currently in a recession, people are really outraged at the idea of paying higher taxes. This problem seems unavoidable at the moment despite President Obama’s promise not to raise taxes on people making less than $200k a year. There is no such thing as a perfect health care system. While the public option has its flaws it is a step in the right direction. What you have to ask yourself is: Do you believe the benefits outweigh the cost. Perhaps instead of doing a national public option they can leave it to each state to decide if they want a public health plan. Regardless of whether you agree with the public option or not it is clear that our current health care system is inadequate. If anything is to change we must act now while the topic is in the forefront. Even if you have different ideas on how to fix our health care system please share them. Wright your congressman and let him know how you feel about reform. Delaying change now would only cause more people to suffer. Health Care Reform: The Importance of the Public Option. Gorin, Stephen H. Health & Social Work; May 2009, Vol. 34 Issue 2, p83-85, 3p Research and Reform: Toward a High-Value Health System. Chernew, Michael Health Services Research; Oct2009, Vol. 44 Issue 5p1, p1445-1448, 4p Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey; Princeton Survey Research Associates International June, 2007 Kaiser/HRET Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits, 2008 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Congressional Budget Office