Americans Without Health Benefits Rose to 47 Million

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg News

Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The number of people in the U.S. without medical insurance rose 5 percent to a record 47 million in 2006, the largest increase in four years, even as poverty fell and household incomes rose.

--
The growing number of uninsured Americans, even as incomes rise, may bolster efforts by Democrats in Congress to expand government health-care programs. President George W. Bush has argued that added tax incentives would encourage individuals to buy their own insurance policies.

``What this shows is that we aren't going to see increased insurance simply by having economic good times,'' said Stuart Butler, a policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a research center in Washington. ``There has to be a structural change. Employment-based insurance is steadily eroding.''

The percentage of people in the U.S. who received health benefits through an employer declined in 2006 to 59.7 percent, from 60.2 percent in 2005, the census report found.



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aR4ElrACvlOU&refer=home

[HockeyMom]

1. I don't have insurance

Quit job and moved out of state. In between jobs. Cannot afford COBRA and my husband's insurance costs too much to cover me.

[liberalhistorian]

5. COBRA is nothing more than a fucking joke, a token

the pukes can point to to show how "compassionate" they are. But who in the hell can even begin to afford it, especially if you've lost a job, which is why you usually need COBRA to begin with? Several hundred a month just for one person, tons more for a couple or family; what a fucking joke. NO ONE I know has EVER been able to afford it.

[peacebuzzard]

9. I am living that joke right now to the tune of 430.00 for the comprehensive

policies I had while at work.....and I had to shell it out this month, because I am going through physical therapy, but if PT does not resolve, I can not afford it either....plus, because of my injury I am unable to return to work.

Now, I am fighting insurance companies to try to get the disability insurance, which I am lucky enough to have,( thank you, New York State!!) but the endless forms and requirements are a nightmare when I am just trying to deal with the mobility limitation factor. Oh, and, I have a case manager who does not return phone calls, just mails out computer generated form letters and forms, that crossed in the mail when I sent the completed forms back, (this has happened twice)and which just invalidated what I had just submitted via certified, return receipt.
Now, I have to make another medical appointment in between my physical therapy.

It is a joke.

I am of sound mind, I feel so much for those who cannot fight the vultures. I am slow, but I know what is up. From this end, it has all the aspects of a conspiracy with the benefit of discouraging many of those who are very sick and thus forcing them to either give up or just drag their sick butts back to work if they can. If not, maybe they will just go homeless and destitute.

[patrick404]

17. Look into an Health Savings Acct

Had one for a while which cost me less than $110/month (along with a contribution to the savings acct which I could manage as my budget changed).

The article mentions 47 million 'people in the US' in several locations but only the headline mentions 'Americans.' These are two overlapping yet different populations. People in the US also includes people here illegally, people here on student visas, tourists, etc.

[Joe Bacon]

19. My diabetes test strips cost $100 every 3 weeks

which wipes out what you put in that so-called "Health-Savings Account"

add my insulin charges and lab tests in on that and you'll see tha those so-called accounts only exist for Wall Street to make more money off of you. HSAs are another Republican Ripoff

[BOSSHOG]

2. As a compassionate conservative would put it

they should get off their lazy asses and take care of themselves and stop sucking on the teat of the American Taxpayer. Every patriotic american knows that teat is reserved for defense contractor friends of dick cheney. God Bless Merka!

[lovuian]

3. the system is crumbling Americans can't afford it

as a result 47 million people can't pay and in a major recession even more won't be

national Health is coming whether they like it or not

ITS UNAFFORDABLE

[Delphinus]

12. I have insurance this year

but because I can't find a part time job to help me cover the additional expenses, I won't be able to afford it next year.

[liberalhistorian]

4. Yes, and I've been one of them for exactly a year now. I've

been pretty healthy during that time, thank God, but I live in fear of a sudden accident/injury, or major illness happening before I'm insured again. It would not be covered in that case because of the fucking "pre-existing condition" bullshit and HIPPA wouldn't apply since I would not have been covered within the prior six months. I can't afford my bipolar medication. I've put off having a mammogram because, while I could afford to pay for the mammogram out-of-pocket, in the .0000000001% chance that it shows something, it wouldn't be covered even when I do get insurance because of the fucking goddamned "pre-existing condition" insurance company bullshit.

I recently had a bladder infection and it cost me a ton of money out-of-pocket that I couldn't really spare, but had to; more than would have been charged with insurance. I'm getting married the day after Thanksgiving this year and I will finally be covered under my fiance's insurance, but why should my access to, and the affordability of, healthcare be determined by the status of a romantic relationship? That is bullshit. It's a different world for those of us who are uninsured, a real eye-opener, let me tell you. And you're treated differently by the medical establishment as well, much more so.

[HockeyMom]

10. Medicare

My daughter is bipolar. When she was out of work, we checked this out. Bipolar is considered a disability under Medicare. It's a lot of hoops to go through, but you are eligible to receive medical benefits under it. Even when you start working again, you can defray some of the costs for company insurance, and what insurance doesn't pay, under the Working People with Disabilities Act. There is an income cap but it is fairly high ($50,000).

Go to the Medicare website and check it out. I know with my daughter, if she couldn't take her meds, there would be no job because she would never be able to function and work without them.

It's worth a try. Good luck.

[liberalhistorian]

13. Do you mean Medicaid? I thought Medicare was

just for those 65 and older, and I'm only 42.

[HockeyMom]

16. Yes

sorry

[eridani]

6. PNHP comments on this

Physicians for a National Health Program


Middle-Class Americans Join Ranks of Uninsured in 2006 as Private Coverage Shrinks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 28, 2007

Contacts:
Steffie Woolhandler, M.D. [phone]
Quentin Young, MD [phone]
Don McCanne, M.D. [phone]

Number of Uninsured Swells 2.2 Million to 47 Million

15,000 Doctors: "Single Payer National Health Insurance is the Only
Solution"

Download state by state figures:
http://www.pnhp.org/uninsured2007/Uninsuredbystate2004-2006.pdf

Census Bureau Data:
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/hlthin06.html

The U.S. Census Bureau released data today showing that the number of uninsured Americans jumped by 2.2 million in 2006 to 47.0 million people, with nearly all the increase (2.03 million) concentrated among middle-class Americans earning over $50,000 per year, according to an analysis by Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP). Strikingly, 1.4 million of the newly uninsured were in families making over $75,000 per year. An additional 600,000 were in families earning $50,000 to $75,000 per year. (The median household income in 2006 was $48,200).

"Middle income Americans are now experiencing the human suffering that comes with being uninsured. It makes any illness a potential economic and social catastrophe," said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Physicians for a National Health Program also noted the following:

--The 2.18 million rise in the number of uninsured is the biggest jump
reported by the Census Bureau since 1992.

There are now more uninsured in the U.S.--47.0 million--than at any time since passage of Medicare/Medicaid in the mid-1960's.

93% of the increase is among middle and high income families:

Of the 2.18 million increase:

1.398 million (64% of the increase) was in >$75k family income

An additional 633,000 (29% of the increase) was among $50-$75k group

Among full time workers, the number of uninsured increased by 1.230 million (56.4% of the increase).

In Massachusetts, often cited as a model for health reform, the number of uninsured increased from 583,000 in 2005 (9.2 percent) to 657,000 in 2006 (10.4 percent of the population).

The divergence between poverty and uninsurance is relatively new and striking. Until recently, as poverty went down uninsurance fell. That has changed.

The number of uninsured children has fallen only 17 percent since SCHIP was enacted in 1997 from 10.74 million (adjusted to be comparable to current figures) to 8.66 million. The number of uninsured children rose by 611,000 between 2005 and 2006.

The doctors' group said that the only solution to the rising number of uninsured and underinsured is a single-payer national health insurance
program, publicly financed but delivered by private doctors and hospitals.

Such a program could save more than $400 billion annually in administrative waste, enough to provide high-quality coverage to all and halt the erosion of the current private system.

"We can no longer afford the waste and inefficiency, the high overhead and outrageous executive salaries of the private insurance industry" said Dr. Don McCanne, senior health policy fellow for PNHP. "Only reforms that end our reliance on defective private coverage and assure guaranteed coverage for all will work."

"The experience of other industrialized nations teaches us that high-quality, comprehensive care can be provided to all our citizens," said Dr. Quentin Young, National Coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program. "A single-payer national health insurance system has emerged as the only solution to the nation's health system debacle."

###

Physicians for a National Health Program is an organization of 15,000
American physicians advocating for non-profit national health insurance. PNHP has chapters and spokespersons across the country. For local ornational contacts, call [phone].


Physicians for a National Health Program
29 E Madison Suite 602, Chicago, IL 60602
Phone [phone] |
Fax: [phone]
www.pnhp.org |
info {at} pnhp.org

[Vinca]

7. The 47 million is a number that's been around for years.

I think it's low. Just like the unemployment numbers are low. People drop off the radar because they've been uninsured/unemployed for so long they don't get counted. What is changing is more people who otherwise make a halfway decent living are being shut out. Employers cut health care and if you are of a certain age or have any pre-existing condition the insurance companies don't want you and price their product out of your reach. The insurance companies cherry pick because their mission is to make money. They aren't philanthropic organizations; they could care if you live or die. There is no reason to include the insurance industry and big pharma in the solution. Single-payer, universal health care is not socialized medicine, it's a method of payment. The government - like the insurance companies before them - would set the price they're willing to pay for procedures and providers would have to adapt. (No one has ever been able to explain to me why the price of a procedure continues to rise when all the equipment associated with it has been paid for ten times over. It's greed, pure and simple.) Our taxes might increase, but at the end of the day we'd have more money in our pockets (unlikely my taxes will go up $17,000+ - $12,000 is the current quote for a policy with a $5,000 deductible) and peace of mind. Today, if you get sick, you spend your time worrying about paying people not concentrating on getting well. It has to change.

[HughBeaumont]

8. Too bad.

Countries can't blow themselves up, you know.

Well, they CAN, but let's just say we'd rather be the ones to profit off of it. Using YOUR money, of course.

You want free health care? Don't get sick! HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!

Now manufacture me up a cheeseburger, hold the pickles.

[Delphinus]

11. That's why we need

HR 676 (hope I have that right).

[brentspeak]

14. So much for the "free market solution"

:eyes:

[Doctor_J]

15. On the upside, the CEO of United Health (IIRC) made 1.6 BILLION dollars

last year. And as any GOPer will tell you, it will soon trickle down to the uninsured.

[sofa king]

18. (Waving) Hi there, 46,999,999 fellow travelers!

As I've said before, being without insurance doesn't leave me without a health care plan.

If I get deathly ill, I can plan on dying.