Underinsured Look Like The Uninsured

The number of uninsured is rising, but in this economy, where the rising cost of gas and food is taking more and more of our income, and income is not keeping up with inflation, cutting back on health insurance is one of those bills that lapse. Also, one of the things I have railed against is the bare-bones health insurance that Bush, and his water carriers have touted for American's without health insurance. Those bare-bones insurances do just as much financial harm to people that become ill, as not having health insurance at all.

"The number of people in this country who have health insurance but not the ability to afford adequate medical care continues to climb.

"About 25 million Americans - or approximately one of every five adults younger than age 65 with health insurance - did not have sufficient coverage last year to shield them from financial hardship if they ended up in the emergency room or were seriously ill, according to a new study to be released on Tuesday by the Commonwealth Fund."

"We're moving in a direction where you can be insured all year and still face medical bankruptcy," said Cathy Schoen, the study's lead author and a senior vice president for research and evaluation at the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation in New York specializing in health research.

"The relentless rise in the cost of medical care, combined with a growing number of insurance plans that require patients to pay a higher portion of their medical bills has led to a 60 percent increase in the number of underinsured adults from 2003 to 2007, according to the study. The Commonwealth Fund first calculated the number of underinsured in 2003 when it estimated that 16 million Americans did not have sufficient coverage."

I am not going to dispute this number, mostly because Bush had pushed these bare-bones policies for the past few years, and states that are trying to cover those people that make too much money to qualify for medicaid but not enough to buy their own insurance have implemented programs of their own, such as in Tennessee, with the Cover TN health insurance program, which is also failing.

While cost is an important factor in the health insurance crisis, quality of care is also important.

"But as the states seek to improve the insurance market for individuals and small businesses, the Commonwealth study's findings point to the need to also focus on the quality of coverage, Ms. Schoen said. In Massachusetts, for example, the state focused both on making sure that individuals had plans they could purchase and also that the plans provided sufficient coverage."

This is another reason why true Universal Health Care is needed.

One Response to "Under-insured Look Like the Uninsured"

I see two issues with these bare-bones policies. One is where you have these huge annual deductibles that, unless you have a severe chronic illness, are almost impossible to meet. At least you can pay the lower-negotiated insurance rates while you're whittling down your deductible. In the meantime, you're paying huge premiums and never getting any money back in return.

Another issue is policies that don't cover office visits, and you have to pay the full fee. If it costs $325 to see a specialist, how many times will most people go see one?

Either way, although initial utlization might decrease (as planned by the insurance policies), costs eventually go higher as people need hospitalization because they didn't seek treatment from a doctor earlier. Many insured people can't even afford the out-of-pocket costs, and we know it can only be that much worse for people who have no insurance at all.