Dear Republicans:
I am going to hold you responsible for every single death that results from lack of health care if your catastrophe of a bill passes.
Remember facts? Those pesky things! Read on. You can do it!
I really love health care! And, life. Life.
V
FACT SHEET ON THE HEALTH CARE
DELIMMA
Health care is a moral issue:
“The issue of universal coverage is not a
matter of economics. Little more than 1% of GDP assigned to health could cover
all. It is a matter of soul.” (amsa.org)
There are
18,000 excess deaths for people between age 25-64 per year because of lack of
insurance and health care. (amsa.org)
Our
friends, neighbors, and family are suffering:
emotionally and financially. (amsa.org)
The United States of America
is the only developed country in the world that sees health care as a privilege
and not a right. (amsa.org)
The US
treats health care as a product – an economic product – and, not as a social
good.
(amsa.org)
Who are the uninsured?
80% of the
45 million who don’t have insurance and health care – or it isn’t adequate –
are employed or from working families.
(pbs.org)
How does lack of insurance or
under-insurance affect the lives of our fellow Americans?
The
uninsured are more likely not to fill their prescriptions. (amsa.org)
They are
more likely to pay more. (amsa.org)
The
uninsured are more likely to have difficulty getting medical care. (amsa.org)
More than
half of the uninsured postpone medical care for financial reasons. (amsa.org)
Over 1/3 do
not have recommended medical tests or treatments because they cannot afford it.
40% of our uninsured
do not have a regular source for medical care. (amsa.org)
20% of
those without insurance get their care from and ER while only 3% of those with
insurance use an emergency room for regular care. (amsa.org)
The
uninsured are 50% less likely to receive preventive care. (amsa.org)
The
uninsured are far more likely to be diagnosed late and begin treatment late. (amsa.org)
Health insurance and health care
have become unaffordable for Americans.
Health
insurance premiums have been rising at a rate of increase that is 2-3 times the
rate of inflation. (amsa.org)
These costs
have led to a large increase in the number of people without health insurance
and without health care. (amsa.org)
Before the
ACA, 45 million people were without health insurance and millions more had
insufficient insurance. (amsa.org)
More and
more middle class Americans are unable to afford insurance and have no access
to health care. (amsa.org)
Fewer and
fewer employers provide insurance to their employees. (amsa.org)
There is a
trend for employers to provide insurance with higher deductibles that cover
fewer and fewer medical expenses. (amsa.org)
As fewer
employers provide insurance, more people turn to Medicaid – the safety net –
but there are constant cuts to Medicaid funding. (amsa.org)
There
is vast room for improvement in quality of health care, in delivery, and in
cost cutting in the USA.
The USA
spends $8,233 per person per year. (pbs.org)
Our health care budget eats up 17.6 percent of our GDP. (pbs.org)
We spend more than 2 ½ times what most other developed
countries spend.
(pbs.org)
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development:
The USA has fewer
practicing doctors/population than most other OECD countries.
We have fewer hospital
beds/person than other developed nations.
Our hospital stays are shorter
– yet, our costs are much higher.
Our life expectancy is one
year less than other OECD countries.
Life expectancy in the USA increased
by almost nine years between 1960 and 2010. There was an increase of over 15
years in Japan.
Other countries use a common fee schedule, but in the USA how much a
health care clinic or hospital gets paid depends on the kind of insurance a
patient has.
(pbs.org)
Providers can choose
which patients they will and won’t see based on insurance.
U.S.
payment rates are less flexible than those in other countries: They can address
increases in costs easier and faster.
The USA
has fewer methods for cost containment because our for-profit insurance
companies find it easier to pass on the costs than to negotiate with providers
– doctors and clinics. (pbs.org)
We spend three times as much on administrative costs than France does.
Our hospital costs are higher than other countries – it isn’t
that we deliver more hospital services. (pbs.org)
The quality of care in hospitals in other countries is a good
as in the US
and they are still able to attract people to health care professions. (pbs.org)
Many common procedures cost far more in the US than in
other countries with comparable quality of care. (pbs.org)
Why does the health care cost so much more in the US?
U.S.
doctors make far more money than in other countries.
We use more expensive
diagnostic procedures.
No organization has a
motivation to cut waste – from insurance companies to clinics to doctors: this
is a for-profit industry.
The US does more
testing and more expensive testing than other countries and performs more of
some procedures.
Providers make more money the
more that they test, treat, prescribe, etc.
“The uninsured are more
likely to receive poor care for chronic diseases.” Living and dying thus are
determined by financial status. (pbs.org)
The
Case for Universal Health Care
There are
costs of not having UHC:
Fewer years of participation in the workforce. (amsa.org)
“The annual cost of diminished health and shorter life spans
of Americans without insurance is $65-$130 billion. People who do not live as
long do not work and contribute to the economy as long.” (amsa.org)
Developmental delays for children without health care.
(amsa.org)
“Medicare, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and
the criminal justice system have higher costs than they would if there were
universal coverage.” (amsa.org)
(amsa.org)
There is a cost to communities that have more uninsured
people (poor communities): Providers leave, reduce staff, or relocate and there
is less availability of health care. (amsa.org)
Emergency rooms are over-burdened and the insured and
uninsured suffer from lack of availability Some ER’s shut down. Some reduce
capacity. (amsa.org)
Lack of health care facilities in areas with high
uninsurance rates weakens the local economy. (amsa.org)
“Communities with high rates of uninsurance have less
effective control of communicable disease (e.g. less vaccinations, less
surveillance of TB) and an overall greater disease burden in general.”
(amsa.org)
Unnecessary use of ER’s is a financial burden. It is
estimated that over 10% of ER visits are for non-emergencies, costing the
health care system billions of dollars. (amsa.org)
The under-insured and uninsured don’t get the preventative
and maintenance care that they need are more likely to need more expensive care
later. (amsa.org)
Lack of Universal Health Care results in “job-lock” (people
who have insurance through a job cannot afford to leave) and people may not be
able to retire because they cannot get or cannot afford insurance. (amsa.org)
Lack of health insurance and health care stops people from
opening their own businesses. There is an “entrepreneur” cost. (amsa.org)
The employer based health insurance system in the USA puts
tremendous strain on businesses. (amsa.org)
And, the costs of insuring employees is added in to the cost
of products making USA
made products more expensive. (amsa.org)
“In summary, the cost of universal health care
would be at least $34-$69 billion, plus whatever costs are associated with
covering out-of-pocket expenses and uncompensated care for the uninsured.
Specific solutions may entail additional expenses as well, depending on their
design parameters.” (amsa.org)
But, “The
issue of universal coverage is not a matter of economics. Little more than 1%
of GDP assigned to health could cover all. It is a matter of soul.” (amsa.org)
SOURCES:
https://www.amsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/CaseForUHC.pdf
http://kff.org/uninsured/fact-sheet/ke
