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A Rising Tide Won’t Lift a Leaky Boat
February 21, 2008 • Volume 8, Issue 8New research published in Health Affairs shows that the uptick in the U.S. economy in recent years failed to halt the growing number of uninsured in this country. From 2004 to 2006, even as household incomes rose and the proportion of people living in poverty declined slightly, the percentage of people with health coverage through their jobs continued to fall. The number of uninsured grew among low-, middle- and upper-income groups, although it grew fastest among the self-employed and workers in small firms, as well as among service industry workers whose jobs tend not to come with health benefits. More of us fall into those categories these days, and more of us—47 million at last count—do without health insurance.
Now that the economic uptick seems to have tuckered out, we can expect things to get worse, faster. The Health Affairs study showed an even larger increase in the number of uninsured from 2000 to 2004, a period when incomes declined and more people slipped into poverty.
Good times or bad, our system of obtaining health insurance through our employers is increasingly unable to deliver. A job with decent health benefits may some day be as rare as one that guarantees a pension.
One bright spot in this gloomy picture is the consistently low number—1.5 percent in 2006—of adults over 65 who are uninsured. The reason of course is Medicare. Carpenters, fast food workers, barbers, Walmart greeters, florists, grocery baggers, drywall hangers, security guards and anyone else now working without health insurance becomes eligible for Medicare coverage when they hit 65. They will receive the same Medicare benefit as retired insurance executives and drug company lobbyists, whether the economy is up or down. If you work hard and pay your taxes, your right to Medicare coverage is guaranteed.
Making quality, affordable health care a right for all of us should be both the guiding principle and the ultimate goal of health care reform. It does not explain how we're going to pay to cover everyone, but it tells us to find the money. It does not control the rising costs of health care, but it forces us to make those hard choices. More than anything, it makes clear that the current path is a dead end. Boosterism—faking optimism that the next cycle of economic growth will solve our problems—is wearing thin. The blind faith, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, that the market for private insurance will solve everything, rings hollow. Tinkering around the edges is no longer enough. It’s time to stand up for our right to health care.
Medical Record
“The number of uninsured Americans increased by 3.4 million between 2004 and 2006, despite improving economic conditions. In the first four years of the decade, during a period of economic recession, the number increased by 6.0 million. The dominant factor in both periods was a decline in employer-sponsored insurance coverage” (“The U.S. Economy And Changes In Health Insurance Coverage, 2000–2006,” Health Affairs, February 20, 2008).
“Both the percentage and the number of people without health insurance increased in 2006. The percentage without health insurance increased from 15.3 percent in 2005 to 15.8 percent in 2006, and the number of uninsured increased from 44.8 million to 47.0 million” (“Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006,” U.S. Census Bureau, August 2007).
“Here's my philosophy—that government ought to trust private medicine; that we've got a fabulous health care system. Does it have issues? Sure, it's got issues. But when you compare it to other health care systems in the world, the United States has got a fabulous health care system” (“President Bush Discusses Health Care, Economic Growth and Free Trade at 2007 Grocery Manufacturers Association/Food Products Association Fall Conference,” President George W. Bush, October 31, 2007).
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Medicare Part D Appeals Help for Advocates Is Here!
MRC’s new Medicare Part D Appeals: An advocate’s manual to navigating the Medicare private drug plan appeals process offers an easy-to-understand, comprehensive overview of the entire appeals process, including real-life case examples, a glossary of important appeals terms, a sample protocol for advocates, and links to important resources.
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Medicare Part D Monitoring Project
The Medicare Rights Center (MRC) would like to hear about your experience, or that of someone you know, enrolled in a Medicare private drug plan. With information about what the issues are with Medicare Part D, we will be able to demand that those problems be fixed.
Submit your story at http://www.medicarerights.org/partdstories.html.
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The Louder Our Voice, the Stronger Our Message
Asclepios—named for the Greek and Roman god of medicine who, acclaimed for his healing abilities, was at one point the most worshipped god in Greece—is a weekly e-newsletter designed to keep you up-to-date with Medicare program and policy issues, and advance advocacy strategies to address them. Please help build awareness of key Medicare consumer issues by forwarding this action alert to your friends and encouraging them to subscribe today.
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