Health insurance falling short for more people (underinsured up 60% last year vs. 2003)

[UpInArms]

Source: CBSMarketwatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- People without health insurance risk potential financial disaster if they should need expensive medical care, but a growing number of underinsured Americans also find themselves on shaky financial ground.

Despite the U.S. economy's growth in the last five years, the number of people with health insurance who face high out-of-pocket medical expenses relative to their incomes has risen sharply since 2003, according to a new study.

More than 25 million working-age Americans were underinsured last year, up 60% from the 16 million who had inadequate coverage in 2003, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation in New York. The rate of underinsurance nearly tripled among middle- and higher-income families, those with at least $40,000 in family income.

"Lack of insurance is only one part of the problem, as even the insured have serious gaps in coverage," said Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund. "Insurance coverage is the ticket into the health-care system, but for too many, that ticket doesn't buy financial security or genuine access to care."

The upward trend in the underinsured rate reflects how much rising health-care costs have outpaced wage gains. Premiums for family coverage have jumped 78% since 2001, while wages have risen 19% and general inflation has gone up 17% in that time, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Read more: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/millions-insurance-still-face-serious/story.aspx?guid=%7B9CA790B4%2DDDBC%2D4E46%2DA27B%2DCB07778DD5F5%7D

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(note to Mods: I am one and one-half hours over the 12 hour limit on this post - but I believe this issue needs to be read and talked about - the "two Americas" that JE referenced become more obvious every day.

Do as you will and thanks for all you do!)

[flashl]

1. K/R nt

[raccoon]

2. K&R -- one more rec puts this on Greatest. nt

[earthboundmisfit]

3. K&R

Color me uninsured - and number 5

[area51]

4. k&r

We need to start the transition to single-payer now. If we can afford a 100-year war, as McBush says we can, we can afford single-payer healthcare for Americans.

[flakey_foont]

5. K&R

[tblue37]

6. I teach for a large state university and my insurance is MUCH better than most ,

but my copays have gone up drastically over the past few years. As it stands now, I have to postpone needed surgeries--one on my lower back and one on my neck--because the copays would be far beyond my means right now. I don't get paid in the summer, and as I am a full time lecturer, not a tenure-track professor, I make less than half of what a tenure track professor with my decades of service would make (teaching at the same school since 1972).

But again, remember, my health care is far, far better than most! At one time, it was so good that even at my poorest, while raising two young kids following my divorce, and when I was only a half time, not a full time lecturer, I was able to afford any care I needed, even surgeries, because my copays were so reasonable. At one point 9 years ago, just before my younger child graduated from high school, I was hospitalized for 5 days for heart problems, and it was still within my means to handle my copays!

But just 3 years ago I had a mild stroke, and with the emergency room visit and all the tests and specialist visits following the incident, I ended up owing about $2000, and it took me about a year and a half to pay it down. Even worse, at the time of the incident, even though the right side of my body was pretty much useless and I was having trouble talking, I couldn't call 911 for an ambulance, because I knew I would not be able to afford my copay for the ambulance trip. IIt was midsummer in our college town,so no one was around. My friends, all academics or students, were out of town, and all my neighbors were on vacation. I had no cash on hand, so I couldn’t call a cab, and I was not able to walk to the store to get cash. I had no car (too poor to afford one), and I couldn't have driven even if I did have one.

After calling around town hoping to find a friend at home, I finally ended up calling a friend in Kansas City, 45 minutes away, and he left work and came to take me to the emergency room. It was about 2 1/2 hours before I was able to get any care for the stroke. At the emergency room they said they thought it was a TIA (transient ischemic attack--no permanent damage), but the neurosurgeon I saw later disagreed with their assessment. He said they didn’t do a complete stroke workup in the ER. He said I still had residual weakness on my right side (he saw me 3 months after the incident)--and I know that is true. To this day, my right hand is weak enough to make my handwriting sloppy, whereas it used to be very nice. Also, although I devised my own physical therapy exercises to strengthen my right side, my right arm has never been as strong as it used to be. I would say I have about 97% strength back on that side, but I wonder whether it would be 100% if I had felt I could call the ambulance and gotten care sooner. Also, it could have turned out much worse for me, since I didn’t dare call for an ambulance. What will happen next time?

Oh, and K&R.

[ComtesseDeSpair]

16. I understand...

I'm having a similar situation. I am putting off health care (a surgery that I need) because I can't afford to cover the high deductible right now. It's gone up to $1500.00/year. I remember when I first started working for my company 17 years ago, my insurance didn't even have a deductible! Every year my insurance is getting more and more worthless. It's truly pathetic.

I was told that I had excellent dental insurance too - but I maxed out when I had to have two fillings, one root canal, and one crown this year. I need to have another crown - I have a painful cracked tooth - but I've told the dentist, "See you next year" since my insurance is maxed out and I can't afford to pay for it. Oh well, I can chew on the other side of my mouth for the rest of the year.

How many other thousands/millions of people are going through the same thing? In the end, our health care is going to cost more because we will put off treatment until we have REALLY severe problems that require more drastic treatment we could have nipped in the bud if we'd gone to the doctor earlier.

[bdamomma]

7. kick

[KansDem]

8. $3,000,000,000,000 (Iraq War cost) / 300,000,000 Americans = $10,000 for every citizen

I don't ever want to hear again about how we can't afford national health care.

[lovuian]

9. With unemployment skyrocketing so shall the uninsured

and with that even the insured gets less care for more and more money

we spent trillions on Iraq but what about our own people

Universal Healthcare is coming because our Healthcare system is going to collapse if it hasn't already

[DemoTex]

10. Has Cheney has his Ticker-Kontroller fine-tuned lately?

Just asking. When such services are 100% covered by taxpayers, Cheney might as well keep it running like a Ferrari engine.

:kick:

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. I read not long ago

that Cheney would be dead if he had the same health care most Americans have.

[DemoTex]

27. That was probably the California Nurses Association's excellent "Cheney-Care" ad.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/12/nurses-union-ch.html

[ramapo]

11. I'm better off but constantly worry

My insurance is excellent but the cost of it has skyrocketed while co-pays and deductibles have increased. If I was to leave my job, the cost to get individual coverage ranges from very expensive to absurdly unaffordable, for less coverage.

I worry about my kids. One will soon be done with school and will need his own policy. However his health past is not stellar and I worry he will be denied coverage or it will be very expensive. Medical underwriting should be banned. My daughter lost her job and is now on COBRA. Also expensive but better than individual.

The need to maintain health insurance permeates every decision, every plan.

I'm better off than most but have no confidence that will be case in the future.

[closeupready]

12. Maybe they can all go to Canada?

n/t

[Mountainman]

13. So many insurance plans pay less than medicare or Medicaid that doctors will not

contract with them and that leaves the patient to pay out of pocket what is not covered. So you could be paying premiums and still have virtually no coverage.

[lovuian]

14. Yep thats true

this whole thing can't continue

[NewJeffCT]

15. that's 25 million working-age Americans

How many more millions if you add people under working age?

[LaPera]

17. Amazing, they ALL continue to cite the 2000 figure of uninsured Americans as "47 million", still...

after all these years this is exactly the same figure, (47 million) that has been quoted since the year 2000....Are they suggesting that the 47 million uninsured figure hasn't risen under almost eight years of the corporate, only more profits-minded Bush administration?

Bush, the republicans, democrats and the media, continue to cite the old figure of 47 million uninsured people in this country, (this same figure supposedly includes all children uninsured as well).

Since 2000, millions more have been incorporated into the work force - Yet, they still quote that same old 2000 figure of "only" 47 million uninsured in this country.

And just as this thread mentions, the tens of million more people who have some sort of "health care insurance" however, that insurance is pretty much useless with the high deduction costs and much of the truly necessary care not even covered, it's almost as bad as not having any insurance at all.

While the greedy corporations & businesses have steadily cut benefits and chipped away at what employers will actually pay & cover if one does indeed need their health care "insurance", it's become almost worthless.

Yet, the media & the politicians continue to use that same old 47 million uninsured number that the American people have gotten use to, almost comfortable with.

As if there haven't been millions of more people added to the already disgraceful "47 million" uninsured figure in this country since the year 2000?

So under the last eight years of BushCo Inc. the figure is exactly the same....47 million uninsured people, same as it was eight years previously?

[Vinca]

25. I've wondered about the exact same thing. In 2000 I could still afford

insurance. Now I can't. I know I'm not alone.

[aquart]

18. Americans are dying because Congress has failed us.

[PugNot]

20. Eveyone out

Insurance companies should not be in the healthcare business. They are just middleman who add to the cost. Neither should the govt be involved in the healthcare business. Both end up causing more harm than good.

[diane in sf]

30. The government does just fine with medicare--the gov should be there as a single

payer insurer.

[TomInTib]

19. I just got health insurance for the first time in my life.

And I am gonna be so pissed off if something doesn't happen to me.

[Perry Mason]

22. Add me to the postponed surgery list

In order to avoid a 49% increase in premiums, company was forced to switch health"care" providers this year. I now must postpone badly needed back surgery as we have a FIVE THOUSAND DOLLAR DEDUCTABLE!!!

We need single payer national healthcare like everyone else in the world. The entire concept of "for profit" healthcare is immoral on its face, and any Republidiot who thinks it's better this way so long as the rich can get care and doesn't care if the working class get less access and quality of care than the Cubans just needs to be took out and shot.

They can afford it.

[Lugnut]

23. K&R n/t

[ForPeace]

24. Insurance companies ...

are in the protection racket. They are just as damaging as street thugs who make you pay if you don't want your windows broken. I know it'll put people out of work, but it just doesn't make sense to have them filtering off our health care dollars.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

26. My deductible is $5,000

If it were any lower, I couldn't afford any coverage at all. I raised my deductible from $1000 to 5000 when the monthly premium for a $1000 deductible for someone my age went through the roof.

That means I'm postponing needed tests, and I'm afraid that if the tests DO find something, I'm screwed.

[OhioChick]

28. K&R

:kick:

[bonito]

29. K&R n/t

[KitSileya]

31. Lack of universal health care makes American serfs.

The lack of a proper health care system makes American workers serf, forced to stay with jobs thru which they get at least some coverage - on paper, that is. Anyone who claims the US is the land of the free and that slavery is abolished is lying - I know what real freedom is, as I live in a country with a proper welfare system.