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Sick and getting sicker….not to mention more expensive

Posted by: Jeff Gordon on Aug 06, 2008

Over and over, we hear that we can’t cover the uninsuredbecause it’s just too expensive. But, what costs more than covering theuninsured? Not covering them. According to a study mentioned in TheNew York Times, millions of Americans with easily treatable, commonconditions like diabetes and high blood pressure are not getting care becausethey are uninsured. In fact, the study found that around one-third of uninsuredAmericans have been diagnosed with a chronic illness.

The most recent government estimate of the number of people in this country without health insurance is 47 million, which means that if the proportions found in the study have remained constant, there might be nearly 16 million people in this country with a chronic condition but no insurance to pay for medical care.

Instead of getting the low-cost, proven treatments that cankeep them healthy, these folks end up forgoing trips to the doctor, or optinginstead to get their care in the emergency room. The result? Catastrophe. Forexample, take a person with high blood pressure. Without routine visits andmedicine, people with high blood pressure are at risk of having a life-threateningstroke – which threatens the lives of them and their families. Also, the lackof preventive care mean that more expensive treatments are needed, driving uphealth care costs.

It’s easy to make ourselves feel better about the uninsuredby claiming that most of them are young and healthy, will soon get a job, andget coverage long before they need it. But this is far from the truth. Theuninsured are sick and getting sicker. The longer we wait to make affordable coverageavailable to everyone, the more we will pay – in money and in lives.