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Man succumbs to 7-year battle with health insurance
DENVER—After years of battling crippling premiums and agonizing deductibles, local resident Michael Haige finally succumbed this week to the health insurance policy that had ravaged his adult life.
Haige, who had suffered from limited medical coverage for nearly a decade, passed away early Monday morning. According to sources, the 46-year-old was laid to rest at Fairplains cemetery, surrounded by friends, family members, and more than $300,000 of mounting debt.
"I miss Michael every single day, but at least he can finally rest now," said Sheila Haige, who watched as insurance rates ate away at her husband over time. "What Michael went through, the humiliating forms, the invasive background checks, the complete loss of dignity and hope—I wouldn't wish that kind of torture on anyone."
Once a healthy and happy father of two, Haige saw his life forever change seven years ago when health insurance professionals diagnosed him with a preexisting condition. As months passed and his line of credit continued to deteriorate, the former high school football coach would experience excruciating headaches and bouts of nausea every time another hospital bill arrived.
"My dad always seemed invincible, like there was nothing in the world that could hurt him," son Ryan Haige said. "But then, one night, I found him bent over a stack of UB-92 and HCFA forms, and he was crying. I'd never seen my father look so scared in all my life."
Added Ryan, "Making those payments each month—it was killing him."
While family members refused to look at Haige's insurance plan as a death sentence, it soon became clear that their loved one was facing the biggest fight of his life. Countless visits to doctors, claims adjusters, and loan officers proved futile, with Haige being told at every turn that his case was hopeless.
"They said there was nothing they could do for him, that modern medicine was powerless against this monster," Sheila Haige said. "Still, Michael never gave up. He kept saying that he was going to beat the odds, that he was going to find some way to get coverage."
According to an independent study released last month by the Mayo Clinic, health insurance is the nation's No. 2 cause of death, claiming the lives of some 400,000 Americans each year. A silent killer, health insurance often strikes without warning, its harmful and profit-based policies avoiding detection until it is far too late. Although the cruel bureaucratic disorder does not discriminate, statistics have shown that senior citizens, young dependents, and those woefully underemployed are most at risk.
"I can't tell you the number of patients I've had to deliver the bad news to over the years," said Haige's longtime family physician, Dr. Howard Silverman. "It's never easy to look someone in the eye and tell them it's going to have to be out-of-pocket. For most of these poor people, prayer is the only hope."
Toward the end of Haige's seven-year ordeal, family members said, the once loving husband and father had become an empty husk of his former self.
"I remember the last thing he ever said to me," said eldest son Mark Haige, holding a small picture of his father during happier times, before the endless battery of co-pays began. "He took my hand in his, and he said, 'Son, promise me you'll never sign up for a high-deductible, network-model HMO.'"
While still angry and in shock over Michael's premature passing, Sheila and her two children say the whole experience has taught them the importance of family.
"If Dad were still with us, I know he would want us to be here, at home, supporting Mom," Mark Haige said. "She really hasn't been doing so well ever since Bankers Life and Casualty denied her life insurance claim." DENVER—After years of battling crippling premiums and agonizing deductibles, local resident Michael Haige finally succumbed this week ... more -
Nevada and Massachusetts state AFL-CIOs endorse HR 676
State conventions of the Nevada AFL-CIO and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO have
both passed resolutions endorsing HR 676, single payer healthcare
legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI).
Thirty-nine state labor federations have now endorsed HR 676.
The resolution of the Nevada State AFL-CIO passed August 19th and was
reported by Danny L. Thompson Executive Secretary Treasurer.
In Massachusetts, delegates to the Massachusetts AFL-CIO's annual COPE
convention in Andover, MA voted on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008 to endorse HR
676. John Horgan, IBEW Local 2222 steward at Verizon, had made a
presentation on HR 676 to the state COPE Committee which voted to endorse
HR 676. The COPE Committee’s endorsement was approved by the State
Federation’s Executive Board and passed unanimously by the convention upon
a motion by Robert Haynes, State Federation President.
Horgan had earlier been responsible for several endorsements of HR 676 by
a number of Massachusetts Central Labor Councils.
#30#
HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system in the U.S. by
expanding a greatly improved Medicare system to every resident.
HR 676 would cover every person in the U. S. for all necessary medical
care including prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient
services, primary and preventive care, emergency services, dental, mental
health, home health, physical therapy, rehabilitation (including for
substance abuse), vision care, chiropractic and long term care.
HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments. HR 676 would save billions
annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the private
health insurance industry and HMOs.
HR 676 currently has 91 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers. Co-sponsors
and bill text are here:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.00676:
HR 676 has been endorsed by 460 union organizations in 49 states including
114 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 39 state
AFL-CIO’s (KY, PA, CT, OH, DE, ND, WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD, NC, MO,
MN, ME, AR, MD-DC, TX, IA, AZ, TN, OR, GA, OK, KS, CO, IN, AL, CA, AK, MI,
MT, NE, NY, NV & MA).
For further information, a list of union endorsers, or a sample
endorsement resolution, contact:
Kay Tillow
All Unions Committee For Single Payer Health Care--HR 676
c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO)
1169 Eastern Parkway, Suite 2218
Louisville, KY 40217
(502) 636 1551
Email: nursenpo@aol.com
09/19/08 State conventions of the Nevada AFL-CIO and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO have ... more -
Pirates attack Somalia
Piracy is proliferating in the Gulf of Aden. Pirates based in lawless Somalia this week seized a Greek carrier and a merchant ship registered in Hong Kong, bringing the number of ships currently held to 13. As well, 250 crew members are being held for ransom. The pirates have ties to drug and weapons smuggling, human trafficking and terrorism. Piracy is proliferating in the Gulf of Aden. Pirates based in lawless Somalia this week seized a Greek carrier and a merchant ship reg... more
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ABC News: Allergies Without Insurance a Financial Burden
"Compared to other chronic conditions like heart disease or diabetes, treating allergies may be relatively inexpensive. But for those without health insurance, personal circumstances and medical costs can quickly add up to a price that is simply out of reach. " "Compared to other chronic conditions like heart disease or diabetes, treating allergies may be relatively inexpensive. But for t... more
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Feds Bail Out AIG
The U.S. government stepped in Tuesday to rescue American International Group Inc., one of the world's largest insurers, with an $85 billion injection of taxpayer money. The U.S. government stepped in Tuesday to rescue American International Group Inc., one of the world's largest insurers, with an ... more
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Fed in AIG rescue - $85B loan - Sep. 16, 2008
Fearing a financial crisis worldwide, the Federal Reserve reversed course on Tuesday and agreed to an $85 billion bailout that would give the government control of the troubled insurance giant American International Group. Fearing a financial crisis worldwide, the Federal Reserve reversed course on Tuesday and agreed to an $85 billion bailout that would g... more
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AIG Struggles for Survival After Credit Rating Downgraded
American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer, was hit by a wave of downgrades by credit-rating agencies worried that the deteriorating housing market is further undermining the company's battered finances. American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer, was hit by a wave of downgrades by credit-rating agencies worried... more
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Free Health Care
Politicians have promised universal health care for generations, but more Americans than ever before remain uninsured and in constant fear for their health. Millions of the uninsured are young college grads like Justine and her boyfriend Brian, who are caught off guard when a serious illness strikes. The Ithaca Health Alliance runs a free clinic in Ithaca, NY to care for those whom the health insurance system has left behind. Politicians have promised universal health care for generations, but more Americans than ever before remain uninsured and in constant ... more
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Time: When the big hurricane hits Florida, we're f@#!ed
Floridians should learn how to turn pee into drinking water NOW.
Floridians that scare easily should be careful not to leaf through this week's Time Magazine while waiting at the Publix check-out counter. Because apparently- and I think we all knew this, but it's just not nice to talk about it- if Miami gets smacked by one big hurricane our state is seriously financially f@#!ed:
Ike could well be a Gustav-like bust rather than a Katrina-like disaster. But eventually, disaster will visit the peninsula, and it's still not clear who's going to pay the tab. "It's going to be a financial nightmare," says Cecil Pearce of the American Insurance Association. "Florida is the nation's basket case."
An Ike-sized hurricane hitting Miami, says reporter Michael Grunwald, could cost $70 billion in damages. And while big numbers and the government tend to cause our eyes to gloss over- Somebody will take care of it, right?- Time says, in this case, nope.
The blame, as is often the case, can be traced to Governor Charlie Crist- but in fairness, Florida's residents are his enablers.
After Andrew's destruction, most in-state insurance companies were put out of business, and national ones were scared away. With sky-rocketing premiums for Florida residents, Crist provided subsidized insurance to 1.3 million high-risk homeowners, and through his Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, reinsurance to the few remaining Florida insurance companies.
It's very complicated in a sort of so-this-is-why-I-don't-read-Time kind of way, buy the gist is: Crist has put Florida on the hook for some bills we won't be able to pay in the event of The Big One.
What Time doesn't say, is what going belly-up as a state will really mean. Will the rest of the country treat us like that cousin who likes bourbon and blackjack a bit too much, and cut us off? Will Florida turn into a apocalyptic Waterworld, where only those with boats or machines that turn urine into drinking water survive?
Or will we successfully beg for one of the biggest disaster bail-outs the government's ever handed out?
That sounds presidential. Maybe Florida's legislators should start sucking up to Sarah Palin now.
-Gus Garcia-Roberts Floridians should learn how to turn pee into drinking water NOW. ... more -
McCain Campaign's Plan for Universal Coverage: Change the Definition of '...
That's right. McCain's health adviser wants to solve our health care crisis by changing the definition of "uninsured" so that magically, no one is.
Last week, the Dallas Morning News again pointed out how far behind Texas is from the rest of the country when it comes to health care. As I've argued before, this is because of the extensive privatization of health care in Texas which throws people out to fend for themselves in the "free market," resulting in more uninsured than the rest of the nation.
John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, thinks the numbers put out by the Census highlighting Texas' plight are "misleading:"
But the numbers are misleading, said John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a right-leaning Dallas-based think tank. Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.)
"So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American -- even illegal aliens -- as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care.
"So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."
That's right. John Goodman's solution to the health care crisis in America is to change the definition of "uninsured" so that magically, everyone is insured.
Goodman couldn't be more wrong in his analysis. Using the emergency room for health care is just about the worst thing you can do, both from a cost and health perspective. DrSteveB over at the PNHP blog has a great breakdown of the health arguments that's I'll sum up:
1. There are about 22,000 deaths per year due to lack of health insurance and 11 million Americans with chronic physical illnesses are not getting the medical care they need because they don't have health insurance.
2. Hospitals are getting killed financially in part because of the dumping of care into emergency rooms. They are closing ERs all over the country because of this. Meanwhile wait times in the ER are up even for the critically ill.
Add to that the fact that using emergency rooms for basic care is three to four times more expensive than going to your doctor.
All this ads up to a health care policy -- championed by John Goodman -- that is intent on privatizing the profits and socializing the risk.
By eliminating employer-based health care, taxing the benefits, and making us all fend for ourselves on the "free market," Goodman's plan (and the health insurance industry's, in case you forgot) allows the health insurance industry to snap up wealth, young, and healthy people as customers -- people who rarely get sick or who can afford to pay the bills -- thus making the insurance industry a ton of money. And the uninsured (who, according to Goodman are actually insured, we just don't know it) can just go to the emergency room, sticking hospitals or the state with the bill.
The insurance industry gets all the profits. And we get all the costs. That is what these kinds of plans are designed to do.
Here's what Richard Kirsch, our National Campaign Director, had to say about John Goodman's plan:
Mr. Goodman's solution for fixing our broken health care system is to rebrand its failings? Wow. That's not only glaring evidence of a man grossly insensitive and misinformed but also frighteningly telling as to what we can expect should someone like Mr. Goodman have a say in developing the future of health care in this country.*continues, click link to read* That's right. McCain's health adviser wants to solve our health care crisis by changing the definition of "uninsured�... more -
Is Pay-As-You-Go Car Insurance a Good Idea?
"Legislation is currently underway in California" that would make this possible and Progressive has a similar option to its customers in other states. Progressive's program requires access to when and how you drive. California officals will not make that part of the policy. Is this a crucial difference in ideas? Do you think that's too much informaton released?
Safe drivers might like Progressive's idea because they hope that they will be rewarded for their great driving with lower rates. I personally don't see that as the case. What do you think? "Legislation is currently underway in California" that would make this possible and Progressive has a similar option to its ... more -
Lower crop insurance rates for GMOs: USDA gift to Monsanto
The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) is part of the Risk Management Agency (RMA) that serves under the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), a Federal Executive Department (or Cabinet Department).The USDA-FCIC safeguards the economic stability of agriculture through a system of crop insurance and provides the means for research in devising and establishing such insurance. It is managed by a Board of Directors, subject to the general supervision of the Secretary of Agriculture.
On 12 September 2007, the FCIC Board of Directors approved a Biotech Yield Endorsement (BYE) pilot programme submitted under section 523(d) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act. The result is that farmers growing Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) maize receives crop insurance at a greatly reduced cost of between 20 and 70 percent.
The BYE programme was crafted by the Monsanto Corporation and its first beneficiary is limited to its GM maize. This insurance bonanza is intended for farmers planting Monsanto’s GM maize that has Bt genes against corn borer and root worm stacked with a gene for tolerance to Round-up herbicide. The FCIC Board of Directors, at its 14 August 2008 meeting, approved additional seed technologies for premium rate reduction for producers planting certain corn hybrid varieties; i.e., those containing Bt genes for corn borer and rootworm stacked with genes for tolerance to herbicides such as glyphosate and glufosinate. The companies benefiting from the largesse of the USDA give-away insurance include besides Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta and Pioneer Hi-Bred [1, 2].
The crop insurance policies insure producers against yield losses due to natural causes such as drought, excessive moisture, hail, wind, frost, insects, and disease [3]. It is clear that the stacked GM maize lines are protected against corn borer and rootworm, but not particularly well protected against drought, excessive moisture, hail, wind, frost and disease, nor against the numerous insect pest that are likely to take advantage of reduced competition from borer or root worm. It may be that the stacked maize lines will benefit from a USDA give-away insurance that specifically protects against any such secondary insect pests; for they have indeed already emerged in China and India as the result of growing Bt cotton [4, 5] (see Why Prince Charles is Right, SiS 40 and Deadly gift from Monsanto to India, SiS 39)
FCIC is presuming that the stacked GM maize lines will consistently produce more than conventional or organic maize, but that has not been proven scientifically. It is based solely on an act of faith on the part of the USDA bureaucrats.
Why then do these new GM constructs deserve the gift of reduced insurance cost at the US taxpayers’ expense? Have the taxpayers been consulted before such egregious largesse has been doled out to well-heeled farmers and the corporations who licence the GM seeds?
The rest of the farming community may feel especially aggrieved at this blatant display of favouritism on the part of the FCIC. After all, insured organic farmers were not compensated for damages from epidemics of fungal disease, even though the conventional fungicides were ineffective against the fungus disease. It seems that FCAC is taking on the role of sugar daddy to the GM industry and compliant farmers. And that may go a long way towards promoting universal GM farming practices and bankrupting the public coffers.
^^^^^^^^^^
So not only do consumers pay for their frankenfood at the markets of America without proper disclosure as to health effects of it; US taxpayers are now footing the bill for their crop insurance, thanks to a gift from the USDA. Are you outraged yet? The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) is part of the Risk Management Agency (RMA) that serves under the USDA (United States De... more -
McCain Advisor: There are no Uninsured Americans
How's this for another kick to working Americans who are struggling to get by? According to the guy that helped develop McCain's health care plan, no Americans should be considered uninsured.
His logic? Anyone who can get into a hospital emergency room is able to access health care, and therefore shouldn't be considered uninsured. His solution to the health insurance crisis is simply to define the problem away.
But the numbers are misleading, said John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a right-leaning Dallas-based think tank. Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.)
"So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American – even illegal aliens – as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care.
"So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."
So the bottom line is this: McCain's "health care reform" proposal was developed by someone who doesn't think there is any problem with people not being able to get health care. In his world, everything is hunky dory and the only thing that reform needs to do is to lower costs.
That certainly explains why McCain is giving us "health care reform" that would dramatically increase the number of uninsured. How's this for another kick to working Americans who are struggling to get by? According to the guy that helped develop McCain&#... more -
45.7 Million Uninsured Americans
"For the first time in years, fewer Americans lack health insurance.
The U.S. Census Bureau today announced that 45.7 million of us had no health insurance in 2007. That's 1.3 million fewer uninsured Americans than in 2006.
And while it's not good news that 8.1 million U.S. children went without health insurance of any kind in 2007, that's 600,000 fewer uninsured kids than in 2006. And while 17.6% of children living in poverty didn't have health insurance in 2007, that's down from 19.3% the year before.
Unfortunately, the welcome numbers don't mean the U.S. health care system is in good health. The improvement comes almost entirely from the nation's safety net -- government-funded insurance programs, mostly Medicare and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
"Insured" here means having any kind of health insurance -- private plans linked to employment or directly purchased; or government plans linked to Medicare, Medicaid, or the military. It doesn't mean the plans actually protect against devastating medical bills, says health care economist Karen Davis, PhD, president of The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation.
"Whether or not people have any insurance coverage at all is just the tip of the iceberg," Davis tells WebMD. "Many people have health insurance that doesn't protect them from high bills or even assure them of care. It's a serious problem: 25 million U.S. adults are underinsured, up from 16 million two years ago."
Uninsured Americans don't get their health care for free. In 2008 they will have paid $30 billion out of pocket for health care, Jack Hadley, PhD, and colleagues at George Mason University note in the Aug. 25 issue of Health Affairs.
Moreover, Hadley and colleagues calculate, the government will have paid $56 billion to cover these uncompensated health care costs.
That's not the only sign the U.S. system is in trouble. The backbone of the U.S. health care system is employment-linked insurance coverage. Some 160 million Americans depend on this kind of coverage. But even in a year when uninsured rates are down, this kind of insurance is going down: from 59.7% of the population in 2006 to 59.3% of the population in 2007.
"As that continues to erode, one worries we are headed for even lower numbers," Davis says. "This means we need a comprehensive solution to deal with our fragmented health care delivery system and some guarantee that everyone can get coverage that is it supportable."
It's not just the pocketbook that gets hurt. A recent study shows that heart attacks are much worse for underinsured patients -- even when they get the same immediate care as fully insured patients.
Health Insurance Disparity
The census numbers also reveal a serious disparity in insurance coverage. In 2007:
* 10.4% of non-Hispanic whites are uninsured
* 19.5% of non-Hispanic blacks are uninsured
* 32.1% of Hispanics are uninsured
* 16.8% of Asians are uninsured
Based on a three-year (2005-2007) average (due to relatively small populations):
* 32.1% of American Indian/Alaska Natives are uninsured
* 20.5% of Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders are uninsured
As one might expect, insurance coverage drops as household income falls:
* Uninsurance rate for people in households making less than $25,000: 24.5%
* Uninsurance rate for people in households making $25,000-$49,999: 21.1%
* Uninsurance rate for people in households making $50,000-$74,999: 14.5%
* Uninsurance rate for people in households making $75,000 or more: 7.8%" "For the first time in years, fewer Americans lack health insurance. ... more -
United Kingdom Talk Tuesday 26th August 2008
Tuesday's edition of my three times a week talk show.Watch the show on here on CURRENT TV on Tues, Thurs & Sats.
In today's show :
The sun returns !
New Russian friends.
Cat's - dirty stop outs !
Will they say anything ?
The honey has changed.
Don't worry about the English.
Nikki moves to Saudi, and is too hot !
What are Oysters like ?
Vile smelling cheese.
Tracey's dog.
It's difficult finding people on Facebook.
A cigarette box is dumped.
September soon.
Small swimming trunks on the Olympics.
The corn.
Mull of Kintyre cheese.
We LOVE Boris Johnson.
New lights.
A special offer on the blueberries.
Someone else has a thing for "W"'s.
Superarts.
Stuck to the bottom.
A white face.
Gordon Brown - so unfit for the Olympics !
More out of date food.
Do I look different ?
Joe IS worthy.
A lot of them are idiots - not all - just some.
An operation.
The squirrels have a near miss.
Pet insurance.
Will they notice ?
Email : chris@unitedkingdomtalk.co.uk
WWW.UNITEDKINGDOMTALK.CO.UK Tuesday's edition of my three times a week talk show.Watch the show on here on CURRENT TV on Tues, Thurs & Sats. ... more -
Uninsured pay $30 billion for health care
"Americans who go without health insurance for any part of 2008 will spend $30 billion out of pocket for health care and they will get $56 billion worth of free care, according to a report released on Monday.
Government programs pay for about three-quarters, or roughly $43 billion, of the bills for these uninsured people, Jack Hadley of George Mason University in Virginia and a team at the Urban Institute reported.
"Physicians' donated time and forgone profits amount to $7.8 billion. After government payments to hospitals are subtracted, private philanthropy and profit margins are responsible for at least an additional $6.3 billion," they wrote in the report, published on the Internet at www.healthaffairs.org/.
"From society's perspective, covering the uninsured is still a good investment. Failure to act in the near term will only make it more expensive to cover the uninsured in the future, while adding to the amount of lost productivity from not insuring all Americans," Hadley said in a statement.
On average, an uninsured American pays $583 out of pocket toward average annual medical costs of $1,686 per person, Hadley's team reported in the journal Health Affairs. The annual medical costs of Americans with private insurance average far more -- $3,915, with $681, or 17 percent, paid out of pocket, the report found.
"The uninsured receive a lot less care than the insured, and they pay a greater percentage of it out of pocket. Contrary to popular myth, they are not all free riders," Hadley said.
Current estimates show that 47 million Americans lack any health insurance, and 28 million have gone without for some part of the year. The U.S. Census bureau is scheduled to release new estimates on Tuesday.
If these people were better covered, they would spend more on health care, the researchers predicted.
"Adding the cost of the additional care to current spending by or for the uninsured, total medical care costs for newly insured people will be about $208.6 billion (roughly $3,800 per full-year-equivalent newly insured person), consisting of $122.6 billion in new spending on top of the $86 billion already in the system," Hadley's team wrote." "Americans who go without health insurance for any part of 2008 will spend $30 billion out of pocket for health care and they wil... more -
Uninsured to spend $30 billion, study says
Americans who lack health insurance will spend about $30 billion out of pocket on medical care this year, but others -- mainly the government -- will end up covering another $56 billion in costs, according to a new study.
The tab to cover all the uninsured would be $208.6 billion -- $122.6 billion more than this year's projected total -- mainly because people with insurance tend to use more health-care services, the study found.
The report from researchers at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and the Urban Institute think tank in Washington, D.C., is to be published Monday in the journal Health Affairs online.
With the Census Bureau set on Tuesday to release two major reports on income, poverty and the uninsured, the study is likely to spark debate on health-care reform and rising health costs.
Health-care spending accounted for 16.3% of gross domestic product in 2007, or about $2.2 trillion, and that amount could nearly double in 10 years, according to federal figures. More of the cost is expected to shift to the government, even as it seeks to shrink large deficits.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says he would seek to give coverage to nearly all Americans by requiring parents to insure their children and large employers to offer a plan or pay into a fund. His plan relies on government subsidies, including for low-income families, and would cost an estimated $110 billion a year.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain has promised to offer more choices, but also would offer subsidies to help lower-income patients with pre-existing illnesses. His plan would provide tax credits to individuals who buy private heath insurance. His campaign has offered a preliminary estimate of $7 billion to $10 billion a year for the cost.
The new study estimates the government pays 75%, or $42.9 billion, of the amount uninsured patients can't pay -- through Medicaid, the federal-state health-insurance for the poor and Medicare, the federal program for the elderly and disabled, as well as state and local taxes.
Complicating the measure: Some doctors and hospitals donate time and forgo profit to cover poor people, and in some cases private donations cover the costs. Just how much money doctors and hospitals lose in caring for the uninsured is difficult to pin down, partly because group plans often negotiate lower payment rates than other consumers are billed. For this study, Mr. Hadley of George Mason University defined uncompensated care as the difference between how much the uninsured paid and what the providers would have received had those patients been privately insured.
While many have argued that uncompensated care will translate into higher premiums to patients with private insurance, Mr. Hadley said the impact is "very small," noting that despite an increase in the number of uninsured, hospital spending on uncompensated care has been relatively stable. That is partly because the public hospitals and clinics that most often care for the uninsured often don't have many privately insured patients to absorb the costs.
"It's more through taxes than private insurance bills," Mr. Hadley said. Americans who lack health insurance will spend about $30 billion out of pocket on medical care this year, but others -- mainly the gov... more -
Being overweight could mean higher insurance fees for Alabama workers
Extra pounds mean insurance fees for Alabama workers
The state has given its 37,527 employees a year to start getting fit - or they'll pay $25 a month for insurance that otherwise is free.
Alabama will be the first state to charge overweight state workers who don't work on slimming down, while a handful of other states reward employees who adopt healthy behaviours.
Alabama already charges workers who smoke - and has seen some success in getting them to quit - but now has turned its attention to a problem that plagues many in the Deep South: obesity.
The State Employees' Insurance Board this week approved a plan to charge state workers starting in January 2010 if they don't have free health screenings.
If the screenings turn up serious problems with blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose or obesity, employees will have a year to see a doctor at no cost, enroll in a wellness program, or take steps on their own to improve their health. If they show progress in a follow- up screening, they won't be charged. But if they don't, they must pay starting in January 2011.
"We are trying to get individuals to become more aware of their health," said state worker Robert Wagstaff, who serves on the insurance board.
Not all state employees see it that way.
"It's terrible," said health department employee Chequla Motley. "Some people come into this world big."
Computer technician Tim Colley already pays $24 a month for being a smoker and doesn't like the idea of another charge.
"It's too Big Brotherish," he said.
The board will apply the obesity charge to anyone with a body mass index of 35 or higher who is not making progress. A person five feet six inches tall weighing 220 pounds, for example, would have a BMI of 35.5. A BMI of 30 is considered the threshold for obesity.
The board has not yet determined how much progress a person would have to show and is uncertain how many people might be affected because everyone could avoid the charge by working to lose weight.
But that's unlikely - government statistics show Alabamians have a big weight problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30.3 per cent are now obese, ranking the state behind only Mississippi.
E-K. Daufin of Montgomery, a college professor and founder of Love Your Body, Love Yourself, which holds body acceptance workshops, said the new policy will be stressful for people like her.
"I'm big and beautiful and doing my best to keep my stress levels down so I can stay healthy," Daufin said. "That's big, not lazy, not a glutton and certainly not deserving of the pompous, poisonous disrespect served up daily to those of us with more bounce to the ounce."
A recent study suggested that about half of overweight people and nearly a third of obese people have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while about a quarter of people considered to be normal weight suffer from the ills associated with obesity.
You guys think this is right? Extra pounds mean insurance fees for Alabama workers ... more -
Hundreds of uninsured and untaxed cars sent to crusher
More than 1,000 uninsured and untaxed vehicles have been removed from Fife's roads in the past year.
Fife Constabulary figures showed that 1,231 vehicles were removed, of which 322 were sent to the crusher.
The rest were returned to their owners after evidence of insurance was produced, along with a recovery fee. More than 1,000 uninsured and untaxed vehicles have been removed from Fife's roads in the past year. ... more -
Health Insurance Query
A diabetic asks Obama and McCain what they will do to cure the Health Insurance crisis in America.
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