40 Million Americans Cannot Afford Needed Heath Care Says CDC
The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention have issued a report saying that 1 in 5 U.S. adults, about 40 million people, cannot afford to get the health care they need.
The report says that 20% of adults reported that "they needed and did not receive one or more of these services in the past year - medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, dental care, or eyeglasses - because they could not afford them."
"There has been important progress made in many areas of health such as increased life expectancy and decreases in deaths from leading killers such as heart disease and cancer. But this report shows that access to health care is still an issue where we need improvement," said CDC Director Julie Gerberding, M.D., M.P.H.
Nearly One in Five Americans Say They Can't Afford Needed Health Care [CDC NCHS]
(Photo:Getty)
Post a comment
Comments:
Oops, I meant 40 million.
I say about half of them need to redefine "needed".
Have you been to the emergency room lately? Hardly anybody is actually having an emergency.
@strum40: Yeah, but with your 300 dollars of expendible income, would you rather spend it on private health insurance, or on leisure. I don't think these people are buying 150 dollar jeans, and if they are eating out its fast food and out of necessity due to time and convenience. Imagine if that's all you had leftover after covering the basics- even people on consumerist would question putting that money into health care that isn't even going to give you good coverage. Heck, I'd save half and spend the other half on some kind of leisure so I wouldn't go nuts.
Umm, did the CDC really say 20%.
There are 300 million Americans, 40 million that supposedly need health care.
Either 100 million people, or immigrated to Mexico, or else the number is 60 number.
Or else its someone s trying to exaggerate a story to make it seem really bad and menacing...
Umm, did the CDC really say 20%?
There are 300 million Americans, 40 million that supposedly need health care.
Either 100 million people died, or immigrated to Mexico, or else the number is 60 million.
Maybe its someone is trying to exaggerate a story to make it seem really bad and menacing...
Lately I have been tempted to go ahead and get health insurance... but after hearing round after round of horror stories with people losing coverage, getting rates jacked up, and so on, who wants to buy insurance? I don't trust any of those scumbag companies. If I was eligible for a group policy, I'd probably think differently, but I'm self employed and don't exactly have a spouse working for IBM or a university.
We looked at the cost of private coverage. It would be considerably more than our mortgage each month. Glad we have employer sponsored insurance even though it sucks and costs a bunch.
@canerican: The CDC said 20% of American adults, not 20% of all Americans. Apparently, there are about 200 million adults in America.
@HRHKingFriday: if even I had healthcare, I couldn't afford on top of the healthcare all the other costs. sure it's 10-20 bucks per visit, but my healthcare at 130 dollars a month would require me to pay 10% of all things done. This means if I break my arm, as my friend did, he had to pay 6,000 dollars as the procedure cost 60,000 and his insurance paid 54,000. The funny part? My health insurance would be through my university, and we have to go to the university medical center... so the 54,000 paid by the student insurance went to the college's medical facility... so how much did it really cost them? I bet less than what my friend had to pay.
It's okay, we can continue to have the best medical system in the world by telling 20% of our country that they can't have it, so the 80% can get in and out quickly =) I think you are just as stupid to have insurance as to not have insurance in the US.
Let me be the first to ask the important question: so what?
@strum40: Right, are the ones throwing away their money at luxury items. Because everyone knows there are no poor or homeless people in this country, right?
@smitty1123: The so what part is that if you can't afford health insurance and you find yourself needing medical care, you probably can't afford the insane costs for treatment. It's almost worse when you have crappy insurance because then you get to pay premiums AND the massive bulk of treatment costs.
@frogpelt - The reason so many people go to the emergency room is because they are generally assured some treatment regardless of whether they have insurance coverage or not.
@strum40:
And our next nominee for uninformed and smugly moralistic. The bulk of the 40mm are people that are not eligible to enroll in an employee sponsored healthcare program. So just to give you an idea of what that means, let me break down the costs of your average employee sponsored HC program which is considered a benefit and a valuable reason to work for someone:
Single coverage, approximately 4K per year, that transalates into roughly $330 per month. Typically the employee covers 20-25% and the employer picks up the difference. That means for single coverage your typical employee is shelling out $80 per month on the high side.
Family coverage, approximately $11K per year. That's roughly $900 per month. Again, let's assume the 25% pickup for the employee. That's $225 per month.
Okay so assuming that one could negotiate the same rates individually with the insurance company that an employer sponsored benefits package does which as a conservative assumption, you'd be looking at something like $330 per month single coverage and $900 per month family coverage. Again this is very conservative as it would likeley cost a bit more to receive the same coverage on an individual basis but let's go with this.
Now assume that the average person who is not eligible for employee sponsored healthcare is an hourly employee that works just under 40 hours a week (hello Wal-Mart!). Okay so 39 hours a week at a relatively generous 11/hour is $430/week gross. That's $1700/month. If it's someone single, then let's think about spending 20% of our pre tax income on healthcare...If it's a family with two working heads of household earning equivalently, then let's look at something north of 25%. It's hard to stay healthy when you're starving ya know.
There will be some that point out individual offered insurance is substantially cheaper thant what I have laid out above. This is not an inaccurate statement. The preponderance of individual insurance offered will basically cost what an employee's contribution under an employees sponsored plan is (80-100 per month for single, 300-350 per family) but with average deductibles in the range of $1500 per insured and much smaller benefits packages and coverage amounts this coverage is hardly comparable. Decent health insurance for the working poor is something that has gone undelivered for too damn long at this point.
This is why one of my main things to look for in a job is good health insurance benefits. In fact, the main reason that I have kept my current job rather than becoming an independent contractor is that I cannot afford to pay for my own health insurance on my own.
The people who don't have adequate coverage for health services that they need should look into improving their employment situation, just like I had to when I decided that I wanted insurance and other benefits.
@maribars: Yea, I get that if you can't afford something you can't get it. I still see this as a "so what?" situation.
1 in 5? Bullshit. More like 1 in 3.
@smitty1123: I'm really not sure what's so hard to grasp about why it sucks to not be able to get necessary health care. Necessary health care isn't something like cable or video games. People need health care when they need it. You know, for their health. If you need a more economic based answer, consider the cost on big business and the government for all the people who stay home sick or stop working when they have a health problem and can't get it fixed. Are you that incapable of putting youself in someone else's shoes? Mommy and daddy won't always be there for you..
@maribars: Bingo. As you said, Mommy and Daddy won't always be there for you. So, when Mommy and Daddy are not there, what do you do? You learn how to be self sufficient. Which comes right back to my "so what"...
The problem is this epidemic is driven by the American Consumer to begin with... The reason why poor people can't afford health insurance is because our system is designed that way. You don't want to pay a lot of money for your goods, you want a cheap price. Therefore, labor rates have to be very small. I'm also sick of wal-mart type bashing. It's well-documented that Wal-mart's average profit is 1.5% on an item. Sure they make a lot of money at the end of the day, but it's nothing compared to what YOUR company probably makes. A lot of small business shoot for a cost goal of about 50%. This enables them to pay their employees a good wage.
Walmart, other retailers, etc. do not pay a good enough wage. And if they did pay a good wage, then you wouldn't want to buy their stuff. This is why everything is made in foreign countries now. Because YOU wanted the cheapest goods. And please, I also want the cheapest goods, so I'm just as much to blame. But I actually have very little income while in college and so I need cheap goods and services. The general American Consumer wants cheap EVERYTHING so they can consume more and own more. Gone are the days of the guy who spends all his money on a nice PC or nice home theater. Now the average American has a nice car, a nice home theater, a nice computer, a nice house, and nice toilet, a nice dinner, a nice everything! People no longer sacrifice certain desires for others, they want everything cheap so they can own everything.
The only way to do that is to for 20% of the population into low income so that you can have that.
Perfect example is a dollar menu in California... You wonder why they hire illegals to work fast food over there? It costs 400-500k for a median house... how the hell can somebody even survive making less than $30-40 an hour... yet they are able to do it quite well by having their illegal Mexicans make their double cheeseburgers.
Under the U.S. constitution we have the right to Life.
Why doesn't that mean health insurance ,how many people die because of no money or insurance to pay for a medical procedure like heart surgery...
The rest of the civilized world thinks so.
The free medical plan for congress and the senate tell me that there life is worth more than mine , and prisoners have access to free medical coverage paid for us the tax payer so there life is worth more than mine to ????
How about the gettmo detainees they get whatever medical needs they require. I am sure We should have at least the same medical options as a detainee shouldn't we
Or are lives as citizens worth less than someone who is trying to destroy our country ???
@smitty1123: Yes, you become self-sufficient until something happens to you. And suddenly, you have medical bills in the tens of thousands that must be dealt with. And perhaps what ever you're dealing with is something that keeps you from working full time, so your income is suddenly compromised as well. So then what? Ruin your credit? Bankruptcy? Foreclosure? Death?
@timmus: I'm self-employed as well, and was recently forced to pay for coverage here in Massachusetts. Granted, it's MUCH cheaper as I used the "Health Connector" program, but the coverage is spotty at best. And it doesn't cover a monthly prescription that I need for a pituitary tumor which is about $140/mo. I feel sucker punched.
Yah, I can't afford it either - my cobra premium jumped $350 a MONTH for December. Guess what? I either have to pay it, or risk the preexisting clause on a new group policy when I become eligible. Guess I take it in the face either way. I'd rather be covered.
People overlook it from a preventative point too. Not just "OMG I cut my arm half off and can't afford the emergency room"
I'm a type 1 diabetic and have decent insurance which covered an insulin pump and constant glucose meter. (And external pager size systemt that's the newest and best technology available)
Even though I'm already in great health that technology will reduce any complications down the road. (If I don't get hit by a bus tomorrow.)
Every kid, adult, and newly diagnosed diabetic should have one of these. Unforunately the uninsured get can't afford the newest insulin and toys like myself.
That sucks. Reducing it down to one illness and one solutio: I would have NO problem with a small tax ncrease if it meant kids cold get outfitted with these and live longer.
james.
@strum40: You hit it right on the head! When you break down the numbers, there are plenty of folks in that number that make decent incomes, but make a concious choice to spend their money elsewhere. Besides, why should they have to buy their own health insurance when they can whine to the government who can put a gun to my head and say, "you WILL pay us more in taxes so these people don't have to make a choice between their $5000 vacation and health insurance next year."
@bohemian:
Try looking at higher deductible coverage that will protect you in the case of disasters and then fund an HSA to cover the stuff in the middle. If you're in good health, just pay the $100-150 the once or twice every two years that you actually set foot in a doctor's office. People get fixated on these low/zero deductible, low/zero co-pay plans and freak out when they see the rates. Obviously if you're in a group plan in your employer and the extra $10-15 a month isn't going to break you, go right ahead. But if you've got to purchase your own insurance, there are AFFORDABLE choices, if you look around and don't get stuck in the mindset that it is bad for you to pay for office visits yourself. Of course taking that route means saving money, something us Americans have a hard time doing.
@timmus: You need something, even if its just something with a $5k deductible that will pick up the tab in case you get a $20,000 bill dumped on you all of a sudden. Having nothing at all (and you're one of the ones they're counting!) while being able to afford it is STUPID. Your argument is STUPID. Get something now. I was a contractor at a company last summer where they had no group insurance for me. Thank god I had my own policy or I would have been up a creek without a paddle when I was involved in an accident that broke my knee and required surgery to fix it. The coverage was $90 a month. No, it didn't cover office visits and such, but it saved me about $5-7k in medical bills. Its not THAT expensive. Get it now!
I don't know what the answer is to our national health care dilemma. It's not our government's responsibility to pay for our health needs. Besides, the more they get into our shit, the worse it is for us. Hell, I've got (expensive) health insurance, and I still owe thousands of dollars just for this year's medical goings-on! But, hey, we're getting it paid. My eldest son, on the other hand, has to go to the ER for anything (and he won't go unless he's dying) because he has no insurance. He won't take $ from us, either. It sucks that the boy (man) works 60-plus hours a week, is looking for something part-time to supplement it, and still can't afford insurance or to get sick!
@strum40: I agree with you on this one. I see all these people saying they can't afford health care as they're puffing away at their cigarette, swigging on their beer and driving away in their new car...as they're getting Medicaid to pay for their next kid.
And why do some people think that the only way to get health insurance is through an employer. My husband and I work for small businesses that don't offer insurance, so we pay for a plan OURSELVES. I have a really high deductible and an HSA so a lot of money goes toward health care, but it's there if something big should happen. With two kids, it's always something. But at least I'm not swimming in healthcare debt or relying on Medicaid.
@BlackBirdTA: I'm sure there are some people who fit that profile, but it certainly isn't all of us. I DID have coverage through my last employer, but still had an incredibly high deductible and when I was diagnosed with a tumor at age 30 I wound up with almost $10,000 in medical debt...even though I was insured.
I don't smoke, drink excessively, do any recreational drugs, or live unhealthily in any way. I also don't have cable, only pay for a cell phone (no landline) and have never purchased a pair of designer jeans in my life. I'm barely able to make my health care payments-both the previous bill AND the coverage I pay for now AND the expensive meds I need monthly to control the tumor-and I can only qualify for a reasonable plan because I live in a state that doesn't allow discrimination for preexisting conditions. Not all of us are twits that moan about "the system" without justification.
it's about time for universal care. Sorry but I had it with the current system.
@smitty1123: Have you ever had a medical bill that wasn't covered by insurance? It's not a matter of being self-sufficient. You can't predict health problems, you can't avoid a lot of them, and a lot of medical issues will keep you from working.
I had health insurance. It covered a portion of "reasonable and customary" expenses. When I ended up in the ER based on the advice of my insurance company's 24-7 nurse, I got a few simple tests and some drugs. They charged me $5k. I ended up owing about 4k.
It sounds like maybe an unexpected 4K out of pocket isn't a big deal to you, but it is to me and a lot of other people. Thank god I hadn't broken a leg or needed major tests.
I sincerely hope you never have to find the answer to your "so what" question the hard way. But maybe it would give you a bit of compassion.
@ironchef
I can't wait for healthcare served up
DMV/TSA/Post-Office Style
@ironchef:
By universal healthcare do you mean have the government pay for it? If so, then the other 80% who work hard to pay for health insurance would be paying for many that can afford it. There are about 7% that can't afford it according to some studies.
They say UK and Canada has free healthcare, but that's BS. Read the article. If people don't want to spend any of their taxed $$$'s on healthcare, wait til Uncle Sam takes 11% of their income.
I venture to say that a significant portion of the poor that have difficulty paying for it smoke. Money that could be better spent on an insurance plan.
You can get a job at Starbucks and get healthcare, but many young Americans (my kids included) are spoiled brats that are too proud to be doing menial jobs like that.
@strum40:
Exactly what I was thinking. Many people don't have healthcare because they CHOOSE not to have healthcare just like many people do not have insurance.
It's a conscious decision to allocate their dollars elsewhere.
I'm self employed and have to buy my own healthcare. It's expensive and I could roll the dice and go without. But I wouldn't expect someone else to pick up the tab if I did.
@strum40: the line is a lot shorter at the Post Office, DMV, and TSA, even on the busiest days of the year than the typical 4-10 hour wait in an emergency room.
The rights granted in the bill of rights are "natural" rights. Meaning that your exercise of your rights necessarily doesn't require anything from me.
You have the right to life. I (or the state) can't kill you (at least without sufficient legal justification). That doesn't mean you can't DIE.
Taking MY tax money to give YOU health insurance isn't a right granted to you in the bill of rights since it necessarily means that something is being taken away from me to provide you your 'right'.
I don't even know where to begin with you people!
@jeffjohnvol: Health care in Canada is funded mostly from taxes on things like cigarettes and alcohol. So people that abuse those things (and presumably get sick from them more often than other people)DO end up paying more taxes for their health.
@skeleem_skalarm: Why doesn't your son deserve decent health care? If he suddenly needed health care and could not afford it, would you be ok with that?
Please, anyone who has silly misconceptions about universal healthcare, send me a message and I would be happy to tell you all about how great it really is!
@jeffjohnvol: The reason those 80% have the money to pay for the healthcare is because they feed of the bottom 20%.
You want to fix this quick and easy? Require all companies to offer employees healthcare free of charge, and see where this all goes. You take a paycut for your now paid for health insurance by your employer, and see what happens at Wal-mart, Best Buy, Target, etc.
I would bet my life that most people who don't have health insurance actually have jobs, the extreme poor already get free government health care. However most people prefer to be ignorant on that. It's the working poor that go without health insurance, not the people on welfare.
@Phildawg: "It's the working poor that go without health insurance, not the people on welfare." RIGHT ON.
@jamesdenver: You hit the nail on the head. Thats why running healthcare as a business is wrong- they don't think of you as a lifetime investment. Odds are, when you get older (and more expensive), you'll be on a different plan. So why bother with preventative medicine. And with the prexisting clauses, they don't have to worry about inheriting people after a lifetime of sub par treatment.
The commenters who wonder why this is a bad thing have clearly never been among the working poor.
I have a full time job, but only bare bones health coverage because my employer will not pay for dental insurance until after I've worked for them for over one YEAR. Meanwhile, I have a nagging toothache that I can't get checked out because I'm too "wealthy" to qualify for reduced cost/subsidized dental care, and I don't even have the opportunity to pay for it out-of-pocket because no private dental office accessible to me will see someone who is uninsured (believe me, I've tried). Buy my own dental insurance? The rates are still unaffordable, even for someone like me who does not have cable, a cell phone, and only spends money on utilities and groceries. Find a new job? And lose my income, what little health insurance I have, and wait another X amount of time at my next employer before the full benefits kick in?
So for the commenters who are saying "uninsured people are lazy" or "40 million can't afford health insurance", I ask you...what am I to do in my situation? Not being snarky; I honestly want to know what your solution is.
My neighbor is leasing an Acura, but "can't afford" health insurance. Not a judgment, just a fact.
@HooFoot: I don't know where you live, but all of the dentists I've been to (in NY & NJ) would be happy to take you if you're willing to pay out of pocket. I would take care of that toothache, though. An infection can lead to further medical problems, and you don't want that.
If you are between jobs in NY, look at healthyny.com, they have great bridge plans that are a lot less expensive than COBRA.
Health insurance is unaffordable for a lot of Americans and for a lot of employers too. As for finding a job with coverage, jobs are changing and fewer are offering the benefits they used to.
I know someone who is self-employed and makes good money but took on a part time job in order to get affordable coverage. She works just enough hours to qualify. She still pays about $200 a month and her employer pays the other half. Bad news, her hours are getting cut which might mean she has to pay the full $400 a month for health insurance IF she can pay the group rate. If she can't get the group rate I shudder at what her price will end up being (single in her 20s). Prior to getting that job she just went without insurance for 2 years because she couldn't afford it.
@jeffjohnvol: Yep you do, it's not your fault, everybody does, and they cannot avoid it.
Why don't we just require all jobs to provide free healthcare insurance to all employees. There should be some sort of minimum coverage standard so we don't all have 1000 dollar or much higher deductibles, but the U.S. would change drastically. You cannot have your dollar menu and realistically expect the person serving you to have health insurance do you? However, they are working, they are probably not on welfare, yet you don't think they hold a high enough position in society to deserve their life to exist. Your dollar menu would need to be 3 or 4 dollars, and your a nice sit down restaurant should be closer to 30-40 dollars per person for a server to afford healthcare of their 10-15% tip money. Of course, most steak house servers will tell you the larger the bill, the smaller the tip %. Once again, another working American will not be given enough money to afford insurance. In this country, you do not want to get sick unless you are working in a job that requires a 4 year degree, or if you got lucky enough to be in a unionized facility or government run job. Outside of those positions, it becomes very difficult for a company to offer a fair wage that could cover health insurance premiums and remain competitive in a free market. Why? because a competitor simply doesn't have to offer enough of a wage to cover than and undercut the hell out of your product or service.
It astounds me that so many in our country prefer to remain ignorant to the above facts and demand people to work so they can have healthcare! They are working my friend, just their company won't provide them with a real benefit to healthcare. This isn't the 1940s or 1950s anymore. This is the 21st century, and healthcare provided by companies cause them to lose complete competitive quality in our 'free-market' economy.
Our economy works well, it's just needs a nice rule that says employers should provide healthcare to all employees. Of course, I think the free market will then dictate the end of the cashier, it will be all self checkout everywhere.
@HooFoot:
If you live near a university see if they have a dental school. You can get dental work for much cheaper. I needed oral surgery, estimate was 2500 at traditional dentist (insurance would only cover 1000 so I had to pay other 1500) but then someone told me about a nearby dental school. For the entire surgery the price would be $800 AND the surgery would be performed by the professor, not a student. The professor was French and supposedly a world renowned expert. Sure, I had to let 3 grad students observe the surgery but it cost me a lot less and I was happy with the care I received.
I'm sure that same 40% can afford, new cell phones, cable tv, pizza, cigarettes, alcohol, going out to movies, $150 jeans and many other non-necessity items.