Health Care Reform Guide

The United States health care system was ranked by the World Health Organization as 37^th-best out of 191 countries while spending the highest portion of GDP than any other country. The current payment system undervalues primary care, failing in responsibility to provide care. The system needs to be restored with a skilled and motivated health care workforce, emphasize on quality and continuous learning, with investment in research and information to guide improvements. The U.S. is looking at $4 trillion in health care expenditures over the next decade as more people loose health coverage and 60 people uninsured die each day. New national policies need to span the whole population system for coherence and efficiency for United States future health and economic system.

The Obama Administration is working to pass America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 for the following goals:

1. Guarantee affordable health care coverage for all United States citizens

2. Provide health care coverage during a job loss

3. Assure health care coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions

4. Cap out of pocket health care expenses to protect families from debt and bankruptcy

5. Guarantee the choice of health care plans and doctors

6. Increase quality of care received to improve patient safety

7. Invest in health care technology and services for early prevention and wellness

8. Lower the long-term health care costs for businesses and government

Current Health Care System reported by healthcareproblems.org:

• The United States spent about $2.2 trillion on health care in 2007 equaling spent $7,421 per person, of which is 16.2 percent of the U.S. GDP

• Employer-based family insurance policy in 2008 costs on average $12,680 and is about the annual earning of a full-time minimum wage job

• Medical expenses are attributed to half of all personal bankruptcies

• More than 80% of the uninsured are working families

• If every state improved diabetes control, there would be 39,000 fewer patients admitted for uncontrolled diabetes in 2004, saving $216.7 million

• Medical errors result in at least 98,000 American deaths, more than AIDS, breast cancer, and motorcar accidents

• A pre-existing that exist before applying for or enrolling in a new health insurance policy prevent people from obtaining any insurance from private firms

• Nine states still allow insurers to reject survivors of domestic violence, as a pre-existing condition

• 36 percent or 12.6 million of non-elderly adults were discriminated against by private insurance companies because of pre-existing conditions

• Insurance companies can revoke health care coverage from people newly diagnosed with expensive illnesses like cancer, if any previous conditions were not reported on the initial health status questionnaire, including unrelated conditions and conditions that were not aware of at the time

The United States Congress discovered that WellPoint, Assurant, and UnitedHealth Group rescinded 19,776 policies saving over $300 million during 2003-2007. The specific amounts reported by the companies were:

WellPoint: $128.9 million

Assurant: $151.6 million

UnitedHealth: $18.7 million

Rising Deductibles reported by U.S. Government:

• A deductible is a paid, out of pocket expense, before health insurance will cover the cost of medical expenses.

• In preferred provider organization (PPO) plans purchased through an employer, the average family deductible increased 30 percent from $1,034 to $1,344 in two years.

• Small firms had PPO deductibles increase 64 percent from $1,439 to $2,367.

• The average deductible for a family plan in the individual market was $2,753 in 2007, a 25 percent increase from 2004.

• The percentage of firms offering employer-sponsored high-deductible plans or consumer-driven health plans increased 9 percent during 2005-2008. Americans with this coverage faced an average deductible of $3,511 in 2008, as the average deductible in the individual insurance market in 2007 was $5,329.

• A person with employer-based coverage paid an average of $1,522 on health care in 2006. When including higher premiums, out-of-pocket costs rose even with a 30 percent increase to an average of $3,744.

• People in the individual market purchasing directly from an insurer has seen a 45 percent increase in total out-of-pocket costs per person from an average of $5,008 in 2001 to $7,280 in 2006.

• 35 percent of low-income people and 22 percent of middle-income people with private coverage spend at least 10 percent of their household income on health care while high-income people spend 8 percent.

America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 Benefits reported by CNN and the Common Wealth Fund:

• 101,000 premature deaths from poor health care would be saved

• 37 million more adults would have an available primary care provider

• 70 million more adults would receive all recommended preventive care

• Reducing preventable conditions and readmissions, the Medicare program could save at least $12 billion each year

• A mixed private/ public insurance system would save $51 billion, about half of the cost in providing comprehensive coverage to all the uninsured in the U.S to save up to $102 billion each year

• CBS says more than $500 billion can be saved by eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicate and Medicare systems

o $300 billion would be put in the back into the system for new providers

o $200 billion net cut saving remains

Overall:

As fall approaches with a stalled economy and stubbornly high unemployment, the United States is moving toward even scarier deficits over the next 10 years. Health care reform needs to be completed quickly. It needs to pay for itself and send the inflation curve downward. The balance between costs and coverage needs to be corrected now. In adjusting for the increase of Americans receiving health care coverage, the question should be asked: how much are you willing to give up to prevent your neighbor from dying? The America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 remains a solution to provide insurance to 7 percent of people in poverty, however those who have the luxury of health insurance do not justify the overall magnitude of the bill.

Citations:

Health Care Statistics

Health Care Problems

http://www.healthcareproblems.org/health-care-statistics.htm

Health reform

http://www.healthreform.gov/index.html

world heath organization asses the world's health systems

WHO

http://www.who.int/whr/2000/media_centre/press_release/en/index.html

why not the best? Results from the nation scorecard on U.S. health system performance 2008

the commonwealth fund

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publications/Fund-Reports/2008/Jul/Why-Not-the-Best--Results-from-the-National-Scorecard-on-U-S--Health-System-Performance--2008.aspx

What you need to know about health care reform

Elizabeth Cohen

Cnn.com

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/18/ep.health.reform.basics/

10 health care reform myths

Stephanie condnon

Cbs newshttp://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/05/politics/main5215880.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody