ÔA NATIONAL DISGRACEÕ
part one
It has been said that the character
of a nation and its people are judged by how they care for the least among
them. The inscription that appears on The Statue Of Liberty ÒGive me your tired, your poor, your huddled
massesÓ that every American once held dear should remind us of our
roots- that not so long ago we once did care for each other, not with the idea
of gain but out of a moral responsibility and deep concern for our fellow
Americans.
We have reached a cross roads in
this country, a deepening financial crisis that appears to the average American
as a bottomless pit with no end. Many, those in power say that thereÕs no money
for a national health care plan and refuse to look at options that may actually
work. I say we CANÕT afford not to. With another 150,000+ jobs lost in America
last month and for each successive month that goes by with more jobs lost, more
Americans will find themselves not only unemployed but also uninsured. For
those newly unemployed they may purchase COBRA, an extension of their current
policy for approximately $500-600 monthly or $1200- 1500 for a family. Think
they can afford that? If their current health situation depends on that
insurance, they become ill or are injured they may soon be looking at medical
bankruptcy. Another foreclosed home, another homeless family that will
eventually fall under the care of the public. A sickly population with no
access to health care is a huge financial drain on a country and itÕs
resources.
For those of you who think IÕm
saying the government should pay, and your health care should be free.. think
again. What I am talking about is affordable access and renewed focus on
preventive care by each and every individual. Want to smoke? ItÕs a free
country, but that cigarette is going to cost you more than just the price of
your next carton.
We are the only civilized country
in the world that does not oversee or provide some sort of financially
affordable health care for its citizens. What a terrible disgrace. The AMA, the
PMA (the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association) and the insurance companies
have huge lobbies that protect their interests, namely what they see as their
money, and until such a time that these interests can be reasonably reined in
nothing will change.
I recently had this very discussion
with a client that felt nationalization of health care would be a disaster, and
if I wanted some proof of that I should take a look at what the state of
Massachusetts is doing. I said to her as I will say to you, we have to start
somewhere. The longer we wait the worse this intolerable situation will become.
Stay tuned for part two and three
as I help you examine some options if you are currently underinsured or
uninsured, what Massachusetts is doing and what the two candidates are
proposing. Till next time, Rebecca
ÔA NATIONAL DISGRACEÕ
part two
Forty seven million Americans are
uninsured; this is simply not acceptable. This figure does not reflect all
those that are under insured. In this part two of ÔA National DisgraceÕ I will
examine what the two presidential campaigns are suggesting to address this
issue.
A brief overview:
The Obama Biden ticket is looking
at the two extremes- government run health care with higher taxes or, letting
the insurance companies operate without rules which is basically what we have
in place now. They do not endorse either.
HereÕs what they are saying: first,
if you like your current health insurance, nothing changes, except your costs
will go down by as much as $2,500 per year.
Divide the burden of health
insurance cost more evenly. Employers that carry their fair share of the cost
of insurance for employees could be eligible for tax credits. Those who do not
would contribute a percentage of payroll toward the cost of their employees
health care. Small businesses would receive a tax credit for providing employee
health care.
Address the issue of insurance
companies overcharging doctors for their malpractice coverage reducing their
overhead and fees.
Require insurance companies to
cover pre-existing conditions so premium payments remain stable. The insurance companies will receive
their fair share of help with difficult and costly medical care. This plan is
said to cost between $50-65 billion a year and will be funded by rolling back
the Bush tax cuts for Americans earning more than $250,00 per year while
retaining estate tax at its current level.
The Obama Biden ticket also wants
to reduce costs with the use of generic drugs, hospitalsÕ reporting costs, and
reform how the insurance companies do business. Namely increase competition by
taking on anticompetitive activity that drives up prices without improving the
quality of care.
The Mccain-Palin ticket wants the
insurance companies to have more freedom for the market to play itself out.
Little or no regulation and little to no change to the existing system with
these exceptions; if you are currently uninsured you would receive a $2,500 tax
credit yearly, $5000 for a family to purchase health insurance. Opponents say
that because of the rising cost of insurance coverage, employers will drop
health care coverage as a benefit and the tax credit you receive will not cover
the cost of privately purchased insurance. If your employer currently insures
you your employer will be adding their cost to insure you to your W2 as taxable
income. In other words, if you pay tax on a yearly-earned income of $40,000
your income will now be $52,000 yearly.
They will be asking individual
states to take up more responsibility by allowing alternative payment schemes
and flexibility to experiment with private pay for Medicaid and Medicare. More
power for the state, less for the patient?
They will be asking for quicker
release of patented drugs to the generic market, the elimination of lawsuits
against physicians that followed safe protocol and more walk in clinics.
They support HSAs or health savings
accounts. Having had a health savings account for a brief period I can only say
if you want to tie up $2,500 in a passbook account that earns less than 1%
return okay. If you need a tax break, it works like an IRA.
Stay tuned for part three where I
will examine what the AMA thinks, how the state of Massachusetts is doing and
some others that are coming into play. Till next time, Rebecca
ÔA NATIONAL DISGRACEÕ
part three
Forty seven million Americans
uninsured, and counting- in this part three I will take a look at some options
if you are currently uninsured, how Massachusetts is doing, being the first
state to cover everyone and how physician organizations feel about changing the
current system.
If you are uninsured:
1. Check into
volunteer, state and federal programs that may have funds that can help. If you
have a debilitating disease such as diabetes, MD, MS or kidney disease you may
qualify for help.
2. Check into
temporary insurance programs designed to insure you for 1-6 or as many as 12
months coverage at a very reasonable cost.
3. Many drug
companies offer programs where medications are free to those that cannot afford
them. Also, ask your physician for samples.
4. If you do
not qualify for free medication, many meds can be purchased from Canada for
half the cost.
How is Massachusetts doing? - Actually
quite well. Their organization is called The Insurance Partnership (IP). The
programÕs focus is on small businesses and their employees. It is not a health
insurance program. Rather the Commonwealth of Massachusetts partners with small
business by offering tax credits to the employer, the employer pays 50% of the
cost, IP pays the employee indirectly by covering 30+ percent of the cost and
the rest is paid directly by the employee to the insurance company. You can
read more about IP at www.4ip.org. This
successful model could be used nationwide.
The American Medical Association (AMA) has
had some ads out there voice for the uninsured that are quite compelling.
Reading what they had to say, I felt there was little shift from the current
system, asking individuals to look to the government, drug companies and disease
founded organizations for help. They are asking for legislative reform of the
laws that govern insurance carriers.
Another physician based
organization Physicians for a National Health Program are calling for a
single public plan covering all medically necessary services from acute care to
long term care, dental and drugs. They feel strongly that under the current
system many patients cannot afford costly tests and therefore opt out until
such a time they have no choice, at which point the cost of treatment will be
much higher due to long standing disease and possible complications. Liability
for the physician is increased as well due to complicated health scenarios and
families that are frustrated and angry that they could not afford care before the
situation became so dire.
They site the efficient Canadian
national health program with overhead costs of only 2-3 percent. They believe
the current insurance system to be broken, costly and ineffective with
duplication of services and insurers arguing over whom pays how much. Patients
would still be required to meet co-pays and insurance would not be free, but
affordable. You can read more about this interesting plan in detail at www.pnhp.org.
We can no longer ignore the problem
of the uninsured and the under insured. A sick population is a serious drain on
a country and its finances. We can do better. We deserve better. Get involved,
ask your senators and congress people to address this growing problem. Till
next time, Rebecca
10/16,23,30 2008