nearly 16 million working-age adults were underinsured in 2003, meaning their out of pocket medical costs exceeded 5%-10% of their income, and they were almost as likely as the nation's 45 million uninsured to go without needed medical care, a new study finds. lower-income and sicker adults were most at risk of having inadequate coverage. the study indicates that without targeted protections, insurance policies that expose patients to costs that are high relative to income are likely to have a negative effect on access and adherence to recommended care, especially for low-income patients and those with chronic illnesses. "given the public policy push and market trends towards higher deductibles, it will be important to track coverage adequacy and care patterns over time," the authors write. the study, by researchers at the commonwealth fund, was published online in health affairs.
There hasn't been a new nuclear power plant in this country in over 20 years. The problem is so many free loaders in this country want something for nothing
Yes, I particularly blame those freeloaders on minimum wage working two or three jobs and don't even get offered health insurance through their work. Boy, those people suck
BTW, my healthcare premium for a family went up to $600 last month. Luckily they insure me for no cost and my husband can insure my daughter.
Yes, I particularly blame those freeloaders on minimum wage working two or three jobs and don't even get offered health insurance through their work. Boy, those people suck
BTW, my healthcare premium for a family went up to $600 last month. Luckily they insure me for no cost and my husband can insure my daughter.
Minimum wage is entry level period. I bet you don't know one person working 2 or three minimum wage jobs to make ends meet. Just like the medicine for food crap that gets thrown around all the time. What makes you think everyone deserves free health care coverage? In this country (thank God) your success is based on you not me giving up my hard earned money because you got pregnant in highschool, did not graduate, have no skills..... the fact is many people are funded under medicaid for health care and other assorted give aways that are bankrupting this country.
Minimum wage is entry level period. I bet you don't know one person working 2 or three minimum wage jobs to make ends meet. Just like the medicine for food crap that gets thrown around all the time. What makes you think everyone deserves free health care coverage? In this country (thank God) your success is based on you not me giving up my hard earned money because you got pregnant in highschool, did not graduate, have no skills..... the fact is many people are funded under medicaid for health care and other assorted give aways that are bankrupting this country.
I qualify as one of those underinsured. I am on SSDI and Medicare. I suffer from several chronic diseases, one of which I must visit the ER for, every few months. And I usually get admitted for4-5 days or 2-3 weeks. I get calls from collection agencies, despite having made arrangements to pay what I can afford. I guess the facility is not happy with my payment. I ignore them because I cannot afford to pay more.
I once owned my own condo, had a nice IRA, a savings account, a daughter in college. A big rig took that all away from me. I lost my condo, paid 47% in taxes and penalities when I cashed my IRA in, emptied out my saving account and my daughter had to drop out of college. She never got the opportunity to go back. I was able to get Medicaid, for 18 months, while waiting for SSDI approval. Of course, I only had an income of approximately $300 a month. Now my income is $1200plus a month but my medications cost me more then $300 a month but I am not receiving Medicaid
It is about time that someone did some research into those of us that are underinsured.
I feel that all the politicians from the President on down needs to go without health insurance for them and their families for say five years. I bet that if that happened there would be changes. Can you imagine the stir that would cause.
Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatric, Behavioral Health.
what an outrage "we can carry on a multibillion-dollar war campaign" yet working people remain uninsured. and it's an even bigger travesty that healthcare providers would be among the under and uninsured!!!! helllooo anyone in government see the looming ever-growing crisis?????
yes, they do...but, do they care is another story all together. if so, it wouldn't be like this.
it's corporate and governmental greed.
oh, and they don't mind at all outsourcing our jobs overseas either.
nope, there is no concern at all i'm afraid.
yes, america just might become a third world country some day....maybe in our life time.
I feel that all the politicians from the President on down needs to go without health insurance for them and their families for say five years. I bet that if that happened there would be changes. Can you imagine the stir that would cause.
Fuzzy
Why, these people are successful and so they get great health insurance. Maybe some wareful kings and queens could spend a day like those successful around them and they would get their rears off the couch and get an education.
Don't ya love these kinda forums!!! I've been on several--hikers, cyclists, current-affairs forums at Atlantic Magazine. It's a fun thing to get folks all riled up and feathers flying. Which, ya know, is kind of where you're at, I think.
My contribution: I got out of military in '68. Went to 5 1/2 years university. Bachelors degree with double major (Psych, History). Graduated after getting married. (Loved university!!! Probably could have made it a life-long status if hadn't had the great American Dream of success--whatever that is.)
Went to work selling lumber & building supplies for national chain. Very successful salesman. Then came the oil shocks of '73 and '79. Interest rates when to 24%--for a mortgage!! Building a house was like putting $50K on a high rate credit card. Nlo body was buying lumber and building supplies.
Had a very very lean 10 years. Finally went to Nursing School. Now big success. But developed lots of empathy for folks down and out. You need to know this, buddy: There is no harder job than being working poor!!
And you know, I was just as worthy a person when I was broke as I am now that I'm rich (own Fla condo, 38ft yacht, 2 cars paid for).
Question: Do people have a 'right' to HealthCare because of their 'MEANING' as part of the family of Americans? Or is it something that everyone has to struggle for from the primordial ooze?
You obviously know the answer that the majority of THIS branch of the American Family has chosen.
But thanks for stirring the pot. It's a cool thing to do and we all need the stimulation at times.
Specializes in ER, ICU, Infusion, peds, informatics.
actually, i think that we (as a society) end up paying much more in health care costs for the uninsured/undersured now, than we would if there was a national, government-based form of insurance.
people who have no insurance or poor insurance don't get preventive health care. any illnesses, problems are not caught in the early stages when they may be more easily treated. they go to the ed (the most expensive form of healthcare) for any/every little complaint (not just to annoy the stew out of the er nurses :) ) but because that is the only access to health care they may have. they know that they can go their even if they can't pay. that huge er bill then gets passed on to the rest of us. they get very little health education, too.
yes, there are often low cost clinics that charge based on a sliding scale, but they are not always accessible to the working poor, and often have long waits. not so easy to get to when you only get 30 min for lunch.
doctors are reimbursed so little by medicaid for their services that they tend to limit the number of patients they will see. and, medicaid will only pay for so many doctor's visits a year. there is a particularly poor county in my area. there are two doctors left there, and one is getting ready to retire. the rest have left that area for wealthier communities. many urgent-care clinics won't accept medicaid as a form of payment (the ones in my area won't).
i don't necessarily believe that a national healthcare plan is going to be "the answer." i'm afraid that it will end up limiting our choices and options where our health care is concerned. however, the uninsured/underinsured cost us so much more (in so many ways) than the cost of a national health care plan would.
[Went to work selling lumber & building supplies for national chain. Very successful salesman. Then came the oil shocks of '73 and '79. Interest rates when to 24%--for a mortgage!! Building a house was like putting $50K on a high rate credit card. Nlo body was buying lumber and building supplies.
Had a very very lean 10 years. Finally went to Nursing School. Now big success. But developed lots of empathy for folks down and out. You need to know this, buddy: There is no harder job than being working poor!!]
You prove my point you changed careers and found something better. Are you special or a rare breed absolutely not. I myself finaced college using credit cards and pay day loans while working full time. I have sympathy for the working poor but that does not guarantee you a free ride on the system. All these programs do is keep these people in poverty it will never lift them up until they do it themselves. We cannot afford national health care in this country period. The fact is a lot of the people ABUSING the ER are people who are not working and have no intention of working. Many have no money to pay their bills but they do have money for nice cell phones, tattoos, alcohol, cigarettes, and illegal drugs. This notion that we are not doing enough for the poor is ridiculous we spend over 1 TRILLION on all these social prgrams since the "Great Society" (Oxymoron) that has decimated Black families, and increased peoples reliance on government and continues to keep them in poverty while my taxes go up, and we as taxpayers are constanlty told we are not doing enough.
I hear you. It's a valid point and I respect the ideas behind whachasay. However--not to be unnecessarily argumentative, there's really damned few of us who have earned it all the hard way. Certainly not most of the corporate and political leaders (both sides, both parties)--who mostly were born with silver spoons. My favorite quip about this was actually said about Bush 41; 'he was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple.'
Anyhow, if EVERYBODY was required to show the same intestinal fortitude that EVERYBODY ELSE had to show to reap the benefits that civilization-as-we-know-it provides---if NOBODY got a leg up from birth---then I think you have a good point.
But in the real world....
And keep those cards and letters coming, boys and girls. Don't any of our international friends want to weigh in on this quintessential American debate?
Minimum wage is entry level period. I bet you don't know one person working 2 or three minimum wage jobs to make ends meet. Just like the medicine for food crap that gets thrown around all the time. What makes you think everyone deserves free health care coverage? In this country (thank God) your success is based on you not me giving up my hard earned money because you got pregnant in highschool, did not graduate, have no skills..... the fact is many people are funded under medicaid for health care and other assorted give aways that are bankrupting this country.
What this means in real terms is that if you aren't smart enough or lucky enough to have a job that ensures you, then when you or your children get sick . . . die.
Yeah, this is more of the compassionate conservatism we need in this country -- where we pay more money per person for healthcare than the "universal coverage" countries do, but only cover about 60% of the population.
I guess the new "welfare cadillac queen" for this group is the "medicaid kidney recepient," but for me, it just doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
I have 4 kids in college/3 part time as they have to work, take loans, get help from me for what I can do to help them, and none of them have health insurance. They cannot afford their insurance at work and don't qualify for mine since they go to to school part time.
StNeotser, ASN, RN
963 Posts
Yes, I particularly blame those freeloaders on minimum wage working two or three jobs and don't even get offered health insurance through their work. Boy, those people suck
BTW, my healthcare premium for a family went up to $600 last month. Luckily they insure me for no cost and my husband can insure my daughter.