Posted by: Erin Kelly on Dec 23, 2008
'Tis the season to be jolly! That may be how the song
usually goes, but this year American families are singing a different tune.
As the economic recession deepens, companies around the
country are closing their doors or cutting back by laying off employees and millions
of Americans are losing their jobs, salaries, and health insurance.
According to the San
Francisco Chronicle,
The unemployment rate has jumped from
about 4.7 percent last December, when the recession began, to 6.7 percent
today. Economists estimated in a Kaiser Family Foundation report that each 1
percent gain in the unemployment rate adds 1 million people to the Medicaid and
State Children's Health Insurance Program.
This estimate means that about 2 million people have been
added to these state-run programs, putting added strain on state governments
that are already struggling to keep these programs alive.
In the spirit of the holidays, one gift that we can give to
our fellow Americans in 2009 is access to the State Children's Health Insurance
Programs (CHIP) and Medicaid. Unfortunately, without funding from the federal
government, these crucial programs may endure
budget cuts that result in millions of adults and children losing their health
care coverage. During such tough economic times, when even more people are
expected to lose their jobs and apply to these programs, we must ensure that
CHIP and Medicaid are well-funded and can continue to provide high-quality
health care to those in need.
By including funding for Medicaid and CHIP in the economic recovery
package in the New Year, Congress can help states by sharing the financial
burden of supporting these programs, while guaranteeing that those currently
enrolled will not lose their coverage.
Please take a look at our E-card and
let your friends know how important the gift of affordable health care is this holiday
season and in 2009.
Have a safe, happy, and healthy holiday. We will be closed
from December 24 through January 5, but we hope to see you in the New Year with
a renewed hope for high-quality, affordable health care for all.
Posted by: Laura Parisi on Dec 22, 2008
What's on your mind this holiday season?
Like millions of Americans, you and your loved ones may have
been thinking about our nation's ailing health care system this year. Perhaps a
family member is having difficulty paying skyrocketing
health insurance premiums. Astronomical
medical bills may have led to foreclosure on a neighbor's home. It's more
than likely that someone spending the holidays with you is among the nearly 46 million
Americans without health insurance.
Now is the time to voice your concerns about the direction
of our nation's health care system. President-elect Obama and Senator Tom
Daschle, Secretary-designate for Health and Human Services (HHS), are asking
for your thoughts and ideas on what the new Administration can do to improve
health care for you and your family.
Between now and December 31st, you can sign up to host a health care
discussion with friends and community members. Participants will discuss a
variety of health care issues, ranging from what they believe is the biggest
problem in health care today to what the government can do to promote healthier
lifestyles. At the end of your discussion, the host will submit a summary of
your conversation, recommendations for the Administration, and personal stories
that illustrate the need for health care reform.
As we come together this holiday season, it's important to
talk about the issues that matter most to us.
Be sure to share your thoughts on how to improve our health care system,
so that friends, family and your community members will be ensured the high
quality, affordable health care they deserve.
Posted by: Laura Parisi on Dec 10, 2008
Sick? Need an annual
checkup? Then go see your doctor ... right?
It's a relatively simple concept, and yet for many women in
today's economy, the choice is not so easy.
The combination of runaway health care costs and a worsening
economy is forcing more and more Americans to choose between the health care
they need and other essential expenditures.
The result is that women all over the United States are forgoing necessary
medical care. The recently released 2008 Women T.A.L.K. Survey
found that, over the past year:
-
45
percent of women skipped health care because they couldn't afford the
cost.
-
Nearly
1 out of 5 women went without procedures such as pap smears and mammograms
because the cost was too high.
-
Nearly
1 out of 5 women didn't fill a necessary prescription because they were
unable to pay for it.
These numbers are frightening and are bound to get worse in
this economy. Among women who did not
skip medical care in the past year, 55 percent report that they will be less
likely to go to the doctor in the future if medical costs continue to
increase.
Skimping on doctor's visits and prescription medications has
potentially serious consequences for women's emotional and physical
health. More than four out of ten survey
respondents who went without medical care say that they worry more about their
health. Additionally, skipping important medical procedures such as mammograms
and pap smears may result in later diagnosis of cancer and a poorer prognosis
for women. Moreover, women who forgo doctor's
visits may miss early signs of conditions such as high blood pressure that
could be prevented with changes in diet and exercise.
As for now, the National Women's Health Resource
Center offers suggestions
on how to minimize health care costs, but
cutting out coupons for pharmacies and limiting fast food intake can only do so
much. The results of the Women's
T.A.L.K. survey highlight yet another link between the economic
crisis and the urgent need for health care reform. We must ensure
that women never have to think twice before getting the health care they
deserve.
Posted by: Julia Eisman on Dec 09, 2008
Health care reform, meet online organizing. Online
organizing, meet health care reform.
After running an unprecedented internet-focused presidential
campaign, President-Elect Obama has brought his online tools from Chicago to Washington,
DC in the form of the new,
interactive transition website, Change.gov. While the site tackles a variety of policy
issues, health care has received significant attention. First, an online video
by Dr. Dora Hughes and Lauren Aronson was accompanied by an interactive community
discussion asking people to share ideas and stories about what worries them
most about our health care system. The result: about 10,000 comments flooded
the website. Sen. Daschle, incoming secretary of HHS, chose a few to respond to
via Web video.
Taking the transition team's online organizing one step
farther, while reaffirming the Administration's commitment to health reform,
Daschle appeared
in Denver last Friday at a Health Care Summit to talk about how he will
initiate the reform process. The plan he
announced is to use Change.gov to help organize grassroots discussions on
health reform, modeled much like the meet-ups from the campaign season. Ideas
that come out of these discussions will then be used in the policy making
process. Via Politico:
"It actually is going to be key for
folks from the federal level to engage consumers and other stakeholders to
create the public will and public accountability to move health care reform and
stay focused and get to the finish line on it," said Dede de Percin, executive
director of Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, a nonpartisan consumer health
care advocacy group.
The Transition Team's use of the web to encourage grassroots
activism and participation is an attempt to avoid mistakes from President
Clinton's failed reform efforts, which primarily occurred behind closed doors.
Understanding this, Daschle
said that he "wants an open process." "What we want to do now is to move to
a discussion across the country....We want your exact ideas."
Posted by: Julia Eisman on Dec 04, 2008
At first, we thought it was a story from The Onion, that
paragon of parody. But no, this was the venerable New York Times, telling us
that one insurance company, UnitedHealth Group, was planning to offer a new
product: an insurance policy covering your right to buy insurance.
Honestly, we couldn't make this stuff up.
As the President of UnitedHealth explains, "What this
product is designed to do, for a very modest premium, is to essentially protect
your insurability for the future."
To be clear, the product is not health insurance. It's more
like a bribe. You'd be paying the insurance company now - 20 percent of the
annual premium, at that - just for the right to purchase their policy later, if
you lost your job or retired early, for example.
Sound like a great deal? Well, no. But it's actually even
worse than it sounds at first. If you're sick and need to be sure you have
coverage, you probably can't buy this plan. And if you're healthy enough to buy
it, but get sick later, you may not be able to afford it when you need it.
This is coming at an interesting time, when both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue
are buzzing with talk of comprehensive health care reform that would include a
broad expansion of health coverage. So the fact that UnitedHealth is offering
this product inherently implies that they are betting
against reform - and they're asking consumers to do the same.
Some advocates for changing the
health insurance system say that rather than expecting individuals to spend
hundreds of dollars a year for a guarantee they may not need, the government
should do more to make sure everyone has access to coverage.
In an economy where it's hard enough to afford rising
premiums, is it really fair to entice consumers with product that capitalizes
on people's fear of losing their health coverage some time in the future? Doesn't seem like it. Especially when the
prospects of reform look so good that even the health insurance lobby wants a seat at
the table.
Posted by: Julia Eisman on Nov 26, 2008
Although the Bush Administration proclaimed it would "leave no child behind" when it comes to education, 8.6 million American children are now being left behind because they lack health coverage. Last year's bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which would have expanded health coverage throughout the nation to approximately 4 million additional uninsured children, failed when President Bush vetoed it twice.
The result is that millions of American children - a majority of whom are from working families - remain uninsured, according to a new Families USA report, Left Behind: America's Uninsured Children, which finds:
- One in nine children in America is uninsured.
- Uninsured children come from working families. The vast majority of uninsured children-88.2 percent-come from families where at least one parent works.
- The five states with the largest number of uninsured children are Texas, California, Florida, New York, and Georgia. Together, the uninsured children in these five states account for nearly half of all uninsured children in the country (48.3 percent).
Why did so many children remain uninsured? Rising premiums and stagnant wages prevented many families from being able to afford employer-based coverage. But that's assuming they could even keep their jobs. The unemployment rate jumped in 2007, forcing millions out of work and stripping them of employer-based coverage. As unemployment rose, more families qualified for public programs like Medicaid and SCHIP - actually causing the uninsured rate to fall because more people were absorbed into public programs. Together, Medicaid and SCHIP prevented half a million children from becoming uninsured. These programs offer an excellent safety net for low-income children, but they are in jeopardy. As the economy worsens, state budgets will tighten and these programs may end up on the chopping block. California is already considering putting a cap on enrollment.
For many families, the State Children's Health Insurance Program is a lifeline, allowing children to see a doctor and remain healthy. We are encouraged by signs that the incoming Obama Administration will work to cover more kids and provide them with the care they need by reauthorizing and expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which expires at the end of March 2009. According to Stateline.org:
So far, signs from the incoming administration and Congress are promising on SCHIP. Both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Obama's new chief of staff, Illinois U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, have said SCHIP renewal will be one of the first issues the next Congress considers.
As Medicaid enrollment continues to climb, the federal government should also ease the resulting financial burden on states by temporarily increasing the federal share of Medicaid funding (called FMAP, the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage) as part of the economic recovery package. This will allow states to maintain their programs in these times of economic distress, instead of being forced to cut coverage for people who need it the most.
Posted by: Julia Eisman on Nov 20, 2008
In a sign that President-Elect Obama means business, former
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) was selected to fill the top spot at
the Department of Health and Human Services. This is good news. Very good news.
"The appointment of Senator Daschle as Secretary of the Health and Human
Services Department is the best news possible for those who want to achieve
meaningful health care reform," said Families USA's Ron Pollack.
In addition to leading HHS, Daschle will also serve as the health
"czar" - or White House point person who will report directly to the
President.
As The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn points
out:
This is a
perfect role for Daschle. Although he was always been interested in health
care, in the last few years he's become a true wonk on the subject, publishing
a book called Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis. It
urges precisely the sorts of reforms President-Elect Obama and his
congressional allies are promoting right now.
Daschle's track-record as Senate Minority leader turned
health wonk gives him incisive knowledge of both the political environment and
the policy required to push legislation through Congress.
Speaking at Families USA's Health Action conference last
year, Daschle
said:
One of the biggest tactical
mistakes we've made, the opponents of health reform have defined the debate. As
a result, we've lived under a number of myths. Perhaps the biggest myth of all
is that the US
has the best health system in the world. So before the debate can begin, we
need to all understand the same basic facts. We need to understand how we got
here and where we need to go.
Incremental change in our
system is no longer a viable option. Instead we need comprehensive reform. In
growing numbers the American people are demanding that we do something. Our
goal should be to build what current and retired members of Congress have
today, and make that available for all Americans.
Daschle's commitment to health care, combined with his astute
understanding of the political climate, gives us reason to believe that health
care reform is not simply a campaign promise, but a likely reality in an Obama
administration.
Posted by: Ella Hushagen on Nov 13, 2008
Lately, it seems like all the headlines about health care are
pretty grim. How about a success story to brighten your day?
Massachusetts
enacted comprehensive health reform in 2006, and its progress providing
high-quality health coverage to the uninsured has been irrefutable. At least
439,000 people who were uninsured now have health insurance; about 191,000 of
them found unsubsidized private health coverage.
According to the Urban Institute, the largest gains in
insurance have been made by populations that are among the most likely to
be uninsured nationally and whose participation in the insurance pool is critical:
adults earning less than about $30,000 a year, young adults aged 18-34, and workers
in small firms.
Reform of this scale undoubtedly
invites criticism and concern. Before the law was implemented, people worried
that firms would drop employee health benefits in light of the financial responsibilities
imposed on them-a phenomenon known as "crowd out." Two years later, researchers
at the Urban Institute say there's no
evidence that crowd out is a problem in MA.
Onlookers also fretted that the
law's individual mandate-the requirement that all individuals obtain health
insurance-would push people to take up bare-bones coverage that would leave
them without sufficient protection from high health costs (underinsured). Again, Urban Institute
research indicates that while a growing share of Americans is underinsured,
the number of underinsured Bay Staters is shrinking under health reform.
The share of insured adults who were
underinsured...dropped by about 2 percentage points between fall 2006 and fall
2007....It appears that the gains in insurance coverage in MA under health reform
represent a gain of comprehensive insurance coverage....
Surely there's some bad news, right? Well, health reform
costs money-that can be bad news depending on your point of view. Massachusetts strikes a
delicate balance among stakeholders to fund this worthy undertaking, turning simultaneously
to consumers and taxpayers, employers and employees, health plans and health
care providers, the state and the federal government. The state is also going
after the slippery issue of underlying health care costs, which they realize
could undermine their effort.
But, if you asked the 439,000 Bay Staters who now have
high-quality health care, "But where's the rub?" they might tell you to look
elsewhere.
Posted by: Julia Eisman on Nov 12, 2008
Today, Senator Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance
Committee, revealed his long awaited white paper on
health care reform. According to the Senator,
...the
Call to Action has three equally important legs: (1) a policy that ensures
meaningful coverage and care to all Americans; (2) an insistence that any such
expansion be coupled with an emphasis on higher quality, greater value, and -
over time - less costly care; and (3) an absolute commitment to weed out waste,
eliminate overpayments, and design a sustainable financing system that works
for taxpayers as well as for the nation's recipients and providers of health
care.
Baucus's plan
includes:
-
Creating a
health insurance "exchange," where individuals and small businesses
could compare and purchase plans - which would include a range of private
plans and a public plan option.
-
An expansion of Medicaid and SCHIP.
-
The plan would allow people between 55 and 64 to
"buy-in" to Medicare as a temporary transition provision until quality,
affordable insurance options are available through the exchange.
-
Support for the employer based model where
employers would be required to offer coverage to their employees, and
small businesses would receive a tax credit if they comply.
Senator Baucus, along with
Senator Kennedy, is expected to play a very important role, as Ezra Klein explains
here, in the road
to reform. Baucus chairs the Senate Finance Committee, which has broad
jurisdiction, overseeing health care reform, Social Security, unemployment
benefits, and taxes and trade. As chairman, it is up to Baucus to schedule
markups, hearings, and votes - and ultimately serves as the gatekeeper for
legislative action on, say, health care reform.
Having Baucus on board with such a comprehensive plan is
certainly encouraging. To quote Families USA's own Ron Pollack:
"The white paper
released today achieves a sound balance between public- and private-sector
approaches, and it blends good policy with a sound view of what is achievable.
"There has never
been a more auspicious opportunity to secure meaningful health care reform: The
President-Elect has made it a top priority; key congressional committee chairs
have made it their top priority; and the large and diverse health care interest
groups are working cooperatively to find common ground.
"As a result, we
have a unique opportunity to succeed this time in securing much-needed health care
reform."
Posted by: Julia Eisman on Nov 10, 2008
We heard encouraging words from Michael Myers, staff director for the Senate
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee, chaired by Senator Ted
Kennedy, at Families USA's post-election health care briefing:
"With the Obama victory, the
question is no longer whether we'll pursue comprehensive healthcare reform, but
when and in what form."
Determined to see health care reform come to fruition, Senator
Kennedy has wasted no time in convening regular meetings with key stakeholders in
the hopes of introducing comprehensive legislation in early January. In an
op-ed in Sunday's Washington Post., Kennedy reiterated
the urgency for reform:
"...despite the current economic downturn, we must forge
ahead with this urgent priority. The system is broken. And it's no longer just
patients demanding change. Businesses, doctors and even many insurance
companies are demanding it as well."
The specifics of his reform proposal remain under wraps,
according to Kennedy's office, but Myers
suggested that it will look much like Obama's plan and the Senator will
pursue a "single bill" strategy.
Senator
Obama's proposal builds on our current system of health coverage, preserving
what works and strengthening aspects of the system that need improvement. Under
his plan, workers who are satisfied with their employer-based coverage would
keep it. A new National Health Insurance Exchange would enable individuals and
businesses to purchase health coverage that's as good as the coverage for
members of Congress and other federal employees. His proposal requires that all
children have insurance. It would also cap out-of-pocket expenses and regulate
insurance companies so that they can no longer cherry-pick the young and
healthy and deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
Many observers are poised
to see reform finally happen. Having learned a thing or two from the last
reform efforts in 1993 led by President Clinton, and understanding that reform
is not inevitable, many stakeholders (who don't always see eye-to-eye) are
searching for common ground. In Congress, staff from three jurisdictional
committees -- Finance, Budget, and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)
-- have met to form working groups to discuss coverage expansion, systems
reform, and financing. In addition, Senator Baucus, chair of the Finance
Committee, which must approve any legislation before it goes to the Senate
floor, is also committed
to reform:
"I made sure the finance committee
spent this year learning and preparing for action on a comprehensive overhaul
of the healthcare system, and I intend for us to move swiftly and decisively with
legislation in early 2009."
We'll hear more from Baucus this week when he releases his
white paper on health reform.
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