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Health Care - Not Affordable |
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Health Care for America Now and the Institute for America’s Future have teamed up for a report on affordability. The conclusion shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who actually has to pay for health care every month (that would exclude Members of Congress):
- In the last nine years, the cost of health insurance has risen 120 percent while wages grew only 29 percent. Health insurance premiums have risen so high that experts forecast 52 million Americans will be uninsured next year.
The Institute for America’s Future has a state-by-state interactive map on the results that are particularly illuminating:
Increase in cost of insurance as share of median income, from 2006 to 2016
.70% and lower
.71% to 85%
.86% to 100%
.101% to 115%
.115% or higher
The geographical distribution of the data is interesting. States like Maine are faring the worst - meaning that Maine’s Senators might have a real duty to fix the problem.
And how do we fix that problem?
- For families purchasing health insurance, subsidies based on the federal poverty level must be regionally adjusted to account for drastic cost-of-living variations among urban and rural areas.
- Individuals, employers and government have a shared responsibility to contribute to the cost of extending affordable health coverage to everyone.
- The government should not tax employer-sponsored health insurance benefits.
- Benefit packages should be comprehensive and defined as a benchmark for all insurance plans.
- There should be no annual or lifetime caps on benefits payable by a health insurance plan.
That’s what we’re going for with health reform, and making sure its affordable for our families is the key to the entire issue. Because clearly, this trend cannot continue.
(also posted at the NOW! blog)
Keep putting out you figures Jason. Congress is finally realizing the costs are way out of line and its stalled. Hopefully stays that way.
Sheer Window Dressing!!!
Health Insurance Companies %u201CWin Big%u201D because high risk people will be directed to the Public Plan…
There’ll be some kind of competitiveness clause%u2026, and with mandatory insurance the insurers will make out like bandits…!!!
WHAT???!!! Universal Health Care has been implemented by ALL other developed countries!!!
Here Read:
Canadian Health Insurance: Lessons for the United States / Government Accountability Office (GAO):
–%u201CIf the universal coverage and single-payer features of the Canadian system were applied in the United States, the savings in administrative cost alone would be more than enough to finance insurance coverage for the millions of Americans who are currently uninsured.%u201D
Medical Bills Leading Cause of Bankruptcy, Harvard Study Finds / Consumeraffairs.com
–%u201CSurprisingly, most of those bankrupted by illness had health insurance.%u201D
The Truth About Drug Companies / Mother Jones:
%u201C%u2026 Angell attacks major pharmaceutical industry — whose top ten companies make more in profits than the rest of the Fortune 500 COMBINED — for using %u201Cfree market%u201D rhetoric while opposing competition at all costs.%u201D
Single-Payer Protests Challenge Democrats / Washington Post, 06/06/09:
–%u201CThe White House and Democratic leaders have made clear there is no chance that Congress will adopt a single-payer approach — named for the idea that a single government-backed insurance plan would pay for all Americans’ medical costs — because it is too radical a change.%u201D
Why not Universal Health Care with a $25 deductible after the first annual visit???
Also Read:
The neutron bomb of health insurance / CNN Money:
–%u201CImagine being insured…and then not being insured. Such situations are on the rise.%u201D
%u201CWaiting for an overdue reimbursement check is a hassle. Finding that your health insurance has been nullified after you’ve incurred serious medical costs can be an outright catastrophe.%u201D
%u201CCalled “rescissions,” %u2026 they don’t occur in employer-sponsored group plans %u2026 the practice appears to be growing.%u201D
State Tries To Block ‘Fishing Expedition’ Against Blue Cross / Los Angeles Daily Journal (ConsumerWatchdog):
–%u201CWhen the Schwarzenegger administration in July struck a deal with Anthem Blue Cross that required the insurer to resell medical coverage to dropped policyholders and pay a record $10 million in fines, some attorneys questioned if state regulators had offered the company sweet concessions in exchange.%u201D
More insurance rescission coverage / LA Times:
*An eroding model for health insurance, 2008,
–%u201CWorking Americans once could rely on employer-based benefits. But more people are being forced into the individual market, where coverage is costly, bare-bones and precarious.%u201D
* Former Members Sue Blue Cross, 2006
* Anthem Blue Cross sued over rescissions, 2008
*Healthcare insurance probe grows, 2008
* Health Net ordered to pay $9 million after canceling cancer patient%u2019s policy, 2008
* L.A. sues insurer over cancellations, 2008
* Doctors balk at request for data, 2008,
* Health insurer tied bonuses to dropping sick policyholders, 2007:
–%u201COne of the state’s largest health insurers set goals and paid bonuses based in part on how many individual policyholders were dropped and how much money was saved.%u201D
* Complaints spark state hearing on Blue Cross, 2007,
* Insurer cited in policy rescissions, 2007
* Halted health coverage suit may be far-reaching, 2007,
* Doctors, hospitals join Blue Cross suit, 2007:
–%u201CThe largest organizations representing California physicians and hospitals joined a lawsuit against Blue Cross of California on Thursday, accusing the state’s largest health plan of illegally and routinely refusing to pay them millions of dollars for medical care provided to enrollees whose policies were later canceled.
* Blue Cross cancellations called illegal, 2007
* Blue Cross sued over revoked insurance, 2007
* Health plan review may be intensified, 2007
* Kaiser Told to Reinstate Coverage, 2006,
* Blue Cross Sued Over Claims Refusals, 2006,
* Canceled Policies Prompt Lawsuits, 2006,
* Garamenda to Probe Blue Cross%u2019 Practices, 2006.
THERE%u2019S SO MUCH (MONEY) AT STAKE%u2014IT%u2019S ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU SICK!!!!
My family has a small business in Indiana and cannot afford to give it’s employees any kind of health care, that’s why we agree with a large portion of Americans on the government single payer system. Born in Europe I paid for our health care with insurance stamps in a little book, so did the employer everybody worked for? Until the mass legal and illegal immigration into my country of birth all citizens had exceptional medical services. It insured us of surgery, eyes and teeth care for all the people. Today Europe is under considerable pressure from the millions of foreign laborers, who poured into my nation and other industrialized countries around us. Why American newspaper always seem to quote that European health care is free–is beyond me? Nothing is free! We paid for it through our employers, but we were–NOT–subsidizing for profit insurance companies?
Every health insurance company removes their pound of flesh, their co-pays, deductible, premiums and of course pre-existing conditions. THESE NEFARIOUS BUSINESSES ARE CURRENTLY SPENDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, SPREADING RHETORIC AND PROPAGANDA ON TV, RADIO AND IN MAGAZINES. They are truly worried that there mammoth profits are in jeopardy, because for once the majority of the American people are not listening to their lies. Yes! In Europe you do wait for surgical procedures, but no more than three months. Years ago, I had been out of the country visiting relatives in Australia. When I returned their was a letter waiting for me, for an appointment with a nose surgeon. THE RATIONING OF HEALTH CARE HAS ONLY COMMENCED, SINCE THE INFLUX OF FOREIGN NATIONALS NOT PAYING THEIR SHARE IN EUROPE.
We must take into consideration that a American government pool of health care money, far exceeds European standards and would cover every citizen and legal resident–NOT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. Only the well heeled population don’t care for it and the for profit trillion dollar business base have issues, because they have so much to lose? If nothing else we should have the ability to choose for ourselves. Those who think that for-profit insurance companies, should know that this avenue is available to them. Then the larger portion of the population should not have to beg, to be covered, as they should have access to government Universal health care. We should all know our enemies in this health care issue, who are right now undermining President Obama’s plan. Those politicians who are adverse to any new health care agenda, are without doubt stockholders in hospitals, billing services, insurers or other profit entities. They sold you out to the wealthy special interest lobbyists on E-Verify and a near future AMNESTY. Be ready to throw those political puppets out of office, when their time comes around for re-election. Bombard your Senators and Congressman for a single payer Health care for all AMERICANS.