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America's health care crisis is getting worse, judging by another big jump in the number of uninsured. The U.S. Census Bureau's annual report shows an increase of 2.2 million from 2005 to 2006, putting the latest official figure at 47 million Americans. What's more, most of the 1.3 million adults who became uninsured over the year were employed full time and lost coverage because their employers either dropped the policies or increased employees' share of the costs, making insurance unaffordable.
The erosion is sure to add fuel to a fiery debate about health care reform throughout the long 2008 election campaign season. Presidential candidates are sure to tout the Census numbers as evidence that the current system is broken, using the opportunity to promote their own plans for fixes. Even Republican candidates will harp on the issue, which is ordinarily not a big deal in the GOP primaries. Unless the mortgage meltdown worsens, says Joy Johnson Wilson of the National Conference of State Legislators, "I expect health care will stay the number one domestic issue." The Census numbers are considered "the gold standard that policymakers rely upon" in making health care policy, says Joseph Antos of the American Enterprise Institute.
Proposals will run the gamut, from mandating employer coverage to changing the tax code. But at least some employer groups hope that candidates will put the concentration on promoting wellness. "The real focus should be on the factors that increase the cost of coverage...eight cents of every health care dollar is spent on chronic health care conditions," says Neil Trautwein, vice president of the National Retail Federation.
According to the Census report, fewer than 60% of Americans received health care coverage from their employer in 2006, down 4.5 percentage points from 2000. Most of the decline came from low-wage workers dropping coverage as their employers stepped up the amount employees needed to pay. "Middle-class working families clearly are increasingly at risk for becoming uninsured," says Sara Collins, assistant vice president of the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation that studies health care. The pressure that employers are under should be a big concern for policymakers, Collins continues.
The Census report also put a spotlight on another aspect of the health care debate -- insurance coverage for children under 18. For the second year in a row, the share of youths without health insurance increased, this time from 10.9% to 11.7%. "The jump is due to a decline in employer-based coverage," says Kathleen Stoll of Families USA.
The figures are sure to increase pressure on Congress and President Bush to end their standoff on SCHIP, the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which helps low-income kids get health coverage. Congress wants to hike funding by as much as $60 billion over five years, but Bush has threatened to veto the bill, claiming that it's too costly and extends coverage to too many children whose families, he believes, aren't poor enough to justify coverage. The current program expires on Sept. 30. The timing of the Census report is fortuitous, says Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, noting that it may nudge Congress and the administration to come to agreement.
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POSTED BY: Norm Smith (August 30, 2007 04:05 PM)
How exactly does "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" include the right to government financed health care? This is all part of the entitlement mentality that says the job of the government is to take care of me.
POSTED BY: Julie Todd (August 30, 2007 06:23 PM)
What about those who self pay insurance and have their finances ruined by left over medical bills not paid by insurance. My son's severe illness and subsequent tumor has cost us approximately $200,000 in five years. We are considered middle income, but we have nothing but debt. We have financed and refinanced our home and maxed out credit cards all on medical expenses. I have the records to prove every dime. Something needs to be done.
POSTED BY: Zebra (September 01, 2007 10:56 PM)
First of all, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" were in the Declation of Independence, not the Constitution. (And they were excerpts from the Virginia Resolutions written by George Mason months before Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence) And the point was that these were natural rights, "endowed by their Creator" and not to be interfered with by men. These were not rights to be provided by government, they were rights that government should not interfere with.
The rest of the Virginia Resolutions became the foundation for the Bill of Rights, look it up.
If you have the right to health care, then who has the obligation to provide it? Me?
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