Americans are spending an ever-growing portion of their income on health care and they are getting less for their money. According to a recent article in the Washington Post, workers’ costs for health insurance have risen by 36 percent since 2000. The number of Americans who spend more than a quarter of their income on medical costs climbed from 1.6 million in 2000 to 14.3 million this year.
Never have patients had so many medical options to extend, enrich or alter their lives. Unfortunately, many of these potentially life saving medical options are not available to uninsured people. Mounting medical costs have forced millions of uninsured people into personal bankruptcy. Half of the uninsured owe money to hospitals, and a third are being pursed by collection agencies. Lawyers and accountants say that the most common causes for personal bankruptcy are job loss and medical expenses.
According to a recent article in the Washington Post, workers’ costs for health insurance have risen by 36 percent since 2000. The number of Americans who spend more than a quarter of their income on medical costs climbed from 1.6 million in 2000 to 14.3 million this year.
This bad news comes as many companies are dropping medical coverage entirely or trimming their benefit packages. Taxpayers are subsidizing millions of people below the poverty line who have enrolled in state-run Medicaid programs. The hardest hit have been the low-income working families who cannot afford to pay the premiums on the insurance offered by their employers. The cost of family medical insurance is rapidly approaching the gross earnings of a full-time minimum wage worker.
The U.S. health care system has created a group of uninsured people who look increasingly different from others and suffer in ways that others do not. Children without health insurance are far less likely to receive medical treatments for injuries, infections or asthma. Because children without insurance rarely get dental care and intervention for dental problems, many develop problems with their teeth and gums which last a lifetime.
Lung-cancer patients without medical insurance are less likely to receive surgery, chemotherapy or radiation treatment. The death rate in any given year for someone without health insurance is 25 percent higher than for someone with insurance. According to the Institute of Medicine, 18,000 Americans die each year due to lack of care.
Self employed people have a distinct disadvantage when they try to find affordable medical insurance. Companies that offer individual health insurance may deny coverage based on your medical history or put you in such a high-risk category that it makes health coverage too expensive. Underwriting standards continue to tighten. Things as mundane as grief counseling, a sleep disorder or allergies can make someone ineligible. If you have a hay fever or acne, insurers may turn you down because insurers consider you a high user of medications.
Because medical coverage is so expensive, many people turn to alterative therapies to maintain their health. Others choose to go offshore for surgical procedures because the astronomical costs of surgery in the U.S. put it out of the reach of the average person.
The medical insurance crisis will continue to be a hot topic of political debate. Make sure your legislators know that you are concerned about medical insurance in this country.
Never have patients had so many medical options to extend, enrich or alter their lives. Unfortunately, many of these potentially life saving medical options are not available to uninsured people. Mounting medical costs have forced millions of uninsured people into personal bankruptcy. Half of the uninsured owe money to hospitals, and a third are being pursed by collection agencies. Lawyers and accountants say that the most common causes for personal bankruptcy are job loss and medical expenses.
According to a recent article in the Washington Post, workers’ costs for health insurance have risen by 36 percent since 2000. The number of Americans who spend more than a quarter of their income on medical costs climbed from 1.6 million in 2000 to 14.3 million this year.
This bad news comes as many companies are dropping medical coverage entirely or trimming their benefit packages. Taxpayers are subsidizing millions of people below the poverty line who have enrolled in state-run Medicaid programs. The hardest hit have been the low-income working families who cannot afford to pay the premiums on the insurance offered by their employers. The cost of family medical insurance is rapidly approaching the gross earnings of a full-time minimum wage worker.
The U.S. health care system has created a group of uninsured people who look increasingly different from others and suffer in ways that others do not. Children without health insurance are far less likely to receive medical treatments for injuries, infections or asthma. Because children without insurance rarely get dental care and intervention for dental problems, many develop problems with their teeth and gums which last a lifetime.
Lung-cancer patients without medical insurance are less likely to receive surgery, chemotherapy or radiation treatment. The death rate in any given year for someone without health insurance is 25 percent higher than for someone with insurance. According to the Institute of Medicine, 18,000 Americans die each year due to lack of care.
Self employed people have a distinct disadvantage when they try to find affordable medical insurance. Companies that offer individual health insurance may deny coverage based on your medical history or put you in such a high-risk category that it makes health coverage too expensive. Underwriting standards continue to tighten. Things as mundane as grief counseling, a sleep disorder or allergies can make someone ineligible. If you have a hay fever or acne, insurers may turn you down because insurers consider you a high user of medications.
Because medical coverage is so expensive, many people turn to alterative therapies to maintain their health. Others choose to go offshore for surgical procedures because the astronomical costs of surgery in the U.S. put it out of the reach of the average person.
The medical insurance crisis will continue to be a hot topic of political debate. Make sure your legislators know that you are concerned about medical insurance in this country.
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