Are you confused by the current healthcare debate? We keep hearing that 47 million are uninsured and need help. Is this large number correct? And what help, exactly, do they need? Let’s explore these issues.
Question 1. How many people in the US have no health insurance? This was hard to discover, partly because people go without insurance for varying periods.
In 2008 the U.S. Government measured this. [References below] That is, who was uninsured at the time of the interview, who was uninsured for more than a year at the time of the interview, and who was uninsured for more than two years at the time of the interview. Results:
43.3 million people reported being uninsured at the time of the survey. The average uninsurance period was 5.6 months. Of these, 31.1 million reported being uninsured for more than a year. Only 4.75 million were uninsured for more than two years.
So why are people uninsured?
18 million of the uninsured earn more than $50,000 a year. They could afford insurance but chose not to.
14 million of the uninsured are eligible for Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP but have not enrolled.
9.7 million of the uninsured are not citizens of the United States. Most are here illegally.
1.6 million (balance) appear to be in need of medical insurance help.
Question 2: What help do the Uninsured need?
In a TV interview on June 18, 2009, heart surgeon and retired Senator Bill Frist explained that health insurance is not health. It is only a component. He stated that overall health was dependent on:
Behavior 40%
Genetics 30%
Social class 15%
Health Services 15%
Health insurance only helps access to health services. Thus, it only affects 15% of overall health.
Conclusions/ Suggestions:
1. Current debate is erroneous and overstates the problem. It should reflect the honest statistics shown above.
2. Those who can afford insurance need to be educate to buy some.
3. Those who are eligible for programs but have not signed up need to be educated to sign up.
4. Those who are not citizens need to make their own provisions for health insurance or leave.
5. Those between jobs should be instantly enrolled in Medicaid until they find work.
6. “Hard core” uninsured—for more than say 12 months—should be enrolled in Medicaid and be given job training.
7. Everyone needs education on maintaining health-promoting behavior.
Politicians are currently debating how to make our current health insurance system cheaper, better and faster. Unfortunately, this does nothing for The Uninsured. My suggestions use existing programs to provided solutions tailored to the specific needs of each uninsured person. Problem solved.
References:
Martinez et al., “Health Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January-September 2008” Centers for Disease Control, Dept. of Health and Human Services
DeNavas-Wall et al., “Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007” U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
Dr. Wm. Frist Interview, Thursday June 18, 2009
<http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1158449057&play=1>
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