Monday, March 22, 2010
JUST A THOUGHT
45,000 people die each year because they do not have health insurance. If 45,000 soldiers were killed each year Iraq, we would have a revolt.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
MIDDLE CLASS LOSING HEALTH INSURANCE FASTER THAN THE RICH OR POOR
(FROM HUFFINGTON POST -MARCH 18,2010)
It's the biggest "doughnut hole" of them all: Members of the middle class are losing their health insurance faster than any other income group, according to a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The number of middle-income earners covered by employer health insurance fell by three million from 2000 to 2008, and government programs and the individual market aren't picking up the slack. The total number of uninsured middle-income earners rose from 10.5 million to 12.9 million, representing 16.2 percent of the income bracket -- a bigger increase than for any other income group.
"It really underscores how the problem of uninsurance is not something simply affecting lower-income Americans but is increasingly affecting the middle class," said Brian Quinn, the foundation's research and evaluation office. The most recent Census Bureau estimate puts the total uninsured population at 46.3 million.
Just 66 percent of people in families earning between $45,000 and $85,000 are insured through an employer plan -- 52.7 million people, down from 55.5 million eight years prior -- a drop of nearly seven percentage points.
People who earn less money were more likely to lose employer coverage, but also more likely to be covered by a government program like Medicaid. According to the report, only about half of the decline in employer-sponsored coverage for middle-income earners was offset by government insurance programs.
Those who missed the safety net have been flung into the cold-hearted individual market, where insurance companies deny coverage based on preexisting conditions and charge exorbitant, ever-increasing premiums. (Insurance companies, whose executives earn million-dollar salaries, routinely plead that other industries within the health sector have much fatter profit margins.)
"For a lot of middle class Americans, the individual market is not a real option," said Quinn.
According to the report, the cost for an employer to offer individual and family plans to workers increased 43 percent and 55.6 percent, respectively, during the eight-year period. The amount employees paid for the single and family programs increased 64.5 percent and 80.5 percent. Median household income has fallen 3.5 percent to $51,233.
Click HERE to download a PDF of the report, prepared for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation by researchers at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center, University of Minnesota--Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau (1999, 2000, 2007 and 2008) and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (1999-2001 and 2008). Get HuffPost Business On Twitter, Facebook, and Google Buzz! Know something we don't? E-mail us at huffpostbiz@gmail.com
It's the biggest "doughnut hole" of them all: Members of the middle class are losing their health insurance faster than any other income group, according to a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The number of middle-income earners covered by employer health insurance fell by three million from 2000 to 2008, and government programs and the individual market aren't picking up the slack. The total number of uninsured middle-income earners rose from 10.5 million to 12.9 million, representing 16.2 percent of the income bracket -- a bigger increase than for any other income group.
"It really underscores how the problem of uninsurance is not something simply affecting lower-income Americans but is increasingly affecting the middle class," said Brian Quinn, the foundation's research and evaluation office. The most recent Census Bureau estimate puts the total uninsured population at 46.3 million.
Just 66 percent of people in families earning between $45,000 and $85,000 are insured through an employer plan -- 52.7 million people, down from 55.5 million eight years prior -- a drop of nearly seven percentage points.
People who earn less money were more likely to lose employer coverage, but also more likely to be covered by a government program like Medicaid. According to the report, only about half of the decline in employer-sponsored coverage for middle-income earners was offset by government insurance programs.
Those who missed the safety net have been flung into the cold-hearted individual market, where insurance companies deny coverage based on preexisting conditions and charge exorbitant, ever-increasing premiums. (Insurance companies, whose executives earn million-dollar salaries, routinely plead that other industries within the health sector have much fatter profit margins.)
"For a lot of middle class Americans, the individual market is not a real option," said Quinn.
According to the report, the cost for an employer to offer individual and family plans to workers increased 43 percent and 55.6 percent, respectively, during the eight-year period. The amount employees paid for the single and family programs increased 64.5 percent and 80.5 percent. Median household income has fallen 3.5 percent to $51,233.
Click HERE to download a PDF of the report, prepared for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation by researchers at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center, University of Minnesota--Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau (1999, 2000, 2007 and 2008) and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (1999-2001 and 2008). Get HuffPost Business On Twitter, Facebook, and Google Buzz! Know something we don't? E-mail us at huffpostbiz@gmail.com
Monday, March 15, 2010
THE COST OF FAILURE TO ENACT HEALTH REFORM - FROM RWJ FOUNDATION
The Cost of Failure to Enact Health Reform
2010-2020
By: Garrett B, Buettgens M, Doan L, Headen I and Holahan J
Publisher: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Urban Institute
Published: Mar 15, 2010
The number of uninsured Americans could grow by 10 million people in just five years, and spending on government health care programs for the poor could more than double by 2020, if there are not significant reforms to the current health care system, according to a new analysis just released from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).
Urban Institute researchers used their Health Insurance Policy Simulation Model to assess the changes in coverage patterns and health care costs that will occur nationally from 2010 to 2020 if major reforms are not enacted. The authors provide a range of scenarios to assess the effects. In the worst case:
By 2015, there could be 59.7 million people uninsured. The number could swell to 67.6 million by 2020. An estimated 49.4 million individuals were uninsured in 2010.
Middle-class households would suffer most without reform, with the percentage of these families without health coverage rising from 19 percent today to 28 percent at decade’s end.
As premiums nearly double, employees in small firms would see offers of health insurance almost cut in half, dropping from 41 percent of firms offering insurance in 2010 to 23 percent in 2020.
For employers who continued to offer health insurance, more of the costs would likely be passed on to workers. At the same time, individuals and families would face higher out-of-pocket costs for premiums and health care services. Their spending will jump 34 percent by 2015 and 79 percent by 2020.
The analysis is an update of a report prepared by the Urban Institute last year on the economic impact for the nation and individuals if the health reform effort were to fail. The new report presents fresh findings on the composition of the uninsured in 2020 without reform, the offers of health benefits by employers and the increase in costs to different payers.
It is being released today as part of Cover the Uninsured Week (March 14-20), a nonpartisan campaign organized by RWJF to advocate for health coverage for all Americans. Now in its eighth year, it has become the largest, nonpartisan mobilization in history seeking solutions for the millions of Americans who are uninsured.
2010-2020
By: Garrett B, Buettgens M, Doan L, Headen I and Holahan J
Publisher: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Urban Institute
Published: Mar 15, 2010
The number of uninsured Americans could grow by 10 million people in just five years, and spending on government health care programs for the poor could more than double by 2020, if there are not significant reforms to the current health care system, according to a new analysis just released from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).
Urban Institute researchers used their Health Insurance Policy Simulation Model to assess the changes in coverage patterns and health care costs that will occur nationally from 2010 to 2020 if major reforms are not enacted. The authors provide a range of scenarios to assess the effects. In the worst case:
By 2015, there could be 59.7 million people uninsured. The number could swell to 67.6 million by 2020. An estimated 49.4 million individuals were uninsured in 2010.
Middle-class households would suffer most without reform, with the percentage of these families without health coverage rising from 19 percent today to 28 percent at decade’s end.
As premiums nearly double, employees in small firms would see offers of health insurance almost cut in half, dropping from 41 percent of firms offering insurance in 2010 to 23 percent in 2020.
For employers who continued to offer health insurance, more of the costs would likely be passed on to workers. At the same time, individuals and families would face higher out-of-pocket costs for premiums and health care services. Their spending will jump 34 percent by 2015 and 79 percent by 2020.
The analysis is an update of a report prepared by the Urban Institute last year on the economic impact for the nation and individuals if the health reform effort were to fail. The new report presents fresh findings on the composition of the uninsured in 2020 without reform, the offers of health benefits by employers and the increase in costs to different payers.
It is being released today as part of Cover the Uninsured Week (March 14-20), a nonpartisan campaign organized by RWJF to advocate for health coverage for all Americans. Now in its eighth year, it has become the largest, nonpartisan mobilization in history seeking solutions for the millions of Americans who are uninsured.
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