Health Care For America Now

Reed Abelson at the New York Times has the latest on a report released today from the Annals of Internal Medicine:

Millions of Americans with chronic disease like diabetes or high blood pressure are not getting adequate treatment because they are among the nation’s growing ranks of uninsured.

…

The study, the first detailed look at the health of the uninsured, estimates that about one of every three working-age adults without insurance in the United States has received a diagnosis of a chronic illness. Many of these people are forgoing doctors’ visits or relying on emergency rooms for their medical care, the study said.

It's not secret that folks with chronic diseases, so called "pre-existing conditions" in insurance industry lingo, find it hard to get or keep insurance. Often, they are kicked out of their insurance plan or hit their benefit limits, or when they change jobs, they find it impossible to get on a new plan. And so, they join the ranks of the uninsured.

This report pokes big holes in two typical right wing/insurance industry apologist arguments:

1. It's the uninsured that's the problem.

   The insurance industry would love you to think the only problem with America's health care system is we have too many uninsured. In fact, they would probably love to have a government plan for only the uninsured to opt in to, allowing them to keep cashing health people's checks and kicking them onto government rolls when they get sick and/or old. Focusing on the uninsured takes focus off the real problem: Insurance industry malpractice.

   As this report points out, the many of the uninsured are people that used to be insured. Because the insurance industry puts their profits before people, they got kicked out of the private system. We need a fix for the entire system, not just for the uninsured.

2. It's only healthy people that are uninsured.

   The right wing loves to say it's only healthy people that are uninsured. They say those healthy people are "making a choice" to not spend their money on health care.

   Of course, as this report makes very clear, they are completely wrong. One in three adults without insurance - an estimated 16 million people - have a chronic condition, but can't get or afford insurance. These people should be seeing a doctor, and should be covered by any honest health plan, but aren't because of insurance industry greed.

What's more, this report makes a clear case for preventative care, or at least regular, dependable care. 25% of those with a chronic condition and without health insurance said they haven't seen a doctor in a year, and 7% say they use the emergency room to get the care they need.

Using an emergency room for basic health care is just about the most wasteful thing you can do. The state of California estimates that emergency room care is 3-4 times more expensive than a trip to the doctor's office. And because hospitals are required to care for anyone coming to the emergency room, this wasted money is a huge drain on our system. But these people with chronic conditions who can't get health insurance to see a doctor have no other choice. They are forced to use the most wasteful way to get health care because the insurance industry doesn't want to lose money on their care.

Choice is good, and we need to cover the uninsured, but we need real solutions. We need a guarantee, a certain level of coverage, no matter what. We need a public health care plan open to anyone. We need a way to make sure this guaranteed coverage is affordable to all families.

Insurance industry excuses and fake "reform" attempts aren't going to cut it.