Health in America

HEALTH IN AMERICA

Almost fifty million American people are without health coverage (including almost nine million uninsured children), and the number rises every day.

The working class is especially hard-hit, seeing higher out-of-pocket costs for office visits and astronomical prices for prescriptions. This can lead to people delaying getting the health care that they need, or even declining coverage because it costs too much.

Healthcare costs are rising at a rate five times higher than that of inflation. And as we mentioned, employers are cutting costs by forcing their workers to pay more of their health care costs, in the form of higher copayments and deductibles.

Workers are also paying more for health care through rising costs for family plans, and decreased access to prescription drugs. Also, comprehensive coverage plans are prohibitively expensive for a lot of Americans.

The absence of quality health care in this country stems in part from the lack of quality assurance measures. Our public insurance program, Medicare, is increasingly strained at a time when millions of people are in need of a medical safety net. A majority of those 65 and older (over forty million people) rely on Medicare for their health care needs. Bush’s Medicare Bill also resulted in:

• The federal government being prohibited from negotiating to get lower drug costs.
• Employer-led prescription drug benefits for millions of retirees being threatened.

This country’s health care system is sorely lacking in safety protocols, which directly endangers hospital staff and patients.

Still others have health insurance, but coverage is being reduced and they have to pay much more out-of-pocket. For many people in this country, health care takes far too much out of their budget, and the need for true health care reform has never been greater. The economic security of millions of people depends on whether or not they have health insurance.