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At the Johns Hopkins Gazette, a new study finds that individuals with genetic conditions are twice as likely to report having been denied health insurance than individuals with other chronic illnesses. And while these findings aren't necessarily surprising, they are still very disheartening. In the study, more than 27% of individuals with genetic conditions and serious medical conditions reported having been denied health insurance or offered it at a ridiculously high rate. The Americans with Disabilities Act makes discrimination against persons with disabilities illegal, which includes those with a genetically related condition. And the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act expressly forbids a group health insurance plan from using genetic information to establish rules for eligibility or continued eligibility; however, it's clear that discrimination is happening here. Those who did get affordable health insurance did so either through their employer, or a spouse. But, for those searching for individual health insurance, finding a policy that they can afford requires a lot of patience, good luck, and time spent shopping around.
At Newsweek, and recent article reveals that testing for prescription drugs by drug companies report much higher and more positive results than non-industry trials. And, if this trend reveals a bias designed to sell these drugs, the related link to rising health insurance premiums has been unfairly punishing the average consumer. In the article is says that "in 2003, a whopping 84 percent of trials with pharmaceutical-company involvement showed positive results, compared to just 54 percent for trials without industry backing." A bias could be one reason why this is happening; prescription drug companies have a vested interest in the positive outcome of these trials - they'll make billions of dollars for the next big thing in prescription drugs. But at the same time, prescription drug use is one of the biggest factors in rising health insurance costs. Those little pills come with a big pricetag, and as doctors prescribe them in the millions, healthcare costs rise toward the trillions. The result? The average American can't pay for health insurance, or at least can't pay for the kind of coverage that they'd really like and need. Hopefully upcoming legislation, combined with the implementation of Medicare Part D, will alleviate the burden somewhat. In any case, prescription drugs won't do anyone any good if patients can't afford to get them.
The Detroit News reports that the American Heart Association has released some disturbing news about women and their risk for heart disease and stroke. Apparently, "nearly all American women" are at some kind of risk. With health insurance costs growing more bloated day by day, too many women will die of this disease due to inadequate care. It's almost too much to be believed. "The evidence shows that many more women than thought are at risk of heart disease and stroke -- even those whose only weakness was failure to exercise every day." Taking an aspirin every day is one controversial means of controlling the problem, though long-term stomach problems could be the result. And health insurance isn't helping this situation much. Heart disease and stroke cost the US more than $350 billion dollars a year, and $209 billion of that is direct medical cost. But still, lack of education and poor medical care make heart disease and stroke the top two killers of women in this country. This means that not only does this problem help to inflate health insurance costs, our failure to prevent or adequately cover the disease is also leading more women to die from it. It's a horrible catch-22 that kills millions of women a year: health insurance is hard to get, so many women suffer from heart disease, get sick, and die. But, the costs of the disease are then factored into the healthcare costs that others have to pay, making health insurance even more expensive. The only thing most women can do is to get the highest quality individual health insurance they can afford, and to take good care of themselves. But something will have to be done about this, and very soon, before another generation of women suffer from an inadequate healthcare system.
At People's Daily Online Journal, the story of a college student, who is suing Blue Shield of California for dropping him from his health insurance policy, reflects how difficult it is to get and keep quality insurance today. If the student wins this case, it could be a landmark decision for all of those who must pay for individual health insurance. The student became ill while visiting relatives. He was hospitalized, and when the $9,000 bill was forwarded to Blue Shield of California, they dropped his coverage. Unfortunately this isn't a new problem. As it's addressed in the article, "cancellations are an issue for consumers who buy their own coverage. Unlike job-based group coverage, which is guaranteed to all eligible employees regardless of health, individual insurance policies are medically underwritten, meaning that health plans choose their customers based on health status and per-existing conditions." In other words, if they think you're likely to get sick, health insurance companies will either not cover you at all, or drop you when you need them the most. But, should Blue Shield lose the case, thousands and thousands of people who were cut out of their individual health insurance could potential be reinstated. While health insurance agencies will probably fight the case tooth and nail, it's good to see that citizens are standing up for their healthcare rights. And at least the case will draw more attention to the terrible state of health insurance in this country.
It's a travesty and a crime; this week at chron.com it was revealed that health insurance for children will be cut out of Georgia's health insurance program for low-income families because federal funds are running out. And there's little to nothing that can be done about it. Georgia faces a $131 million shortfall in federal money for PeachCare, and state officials have said it could run out of money as soon as next month. There are already more than 9 million kids out there in America whose parents can't afford their medical coverage; these kids won't receive the check-ups and care that could help them grow into healthy adults. Health insurance for children has always been part of the national debate, with states spending billions of dollars to cover as many minors as they can. But with the rising cost of healthcare, many employers can't afford to offer family health insurance, and employees can't afford to pay for it out of pocket. According to the article, "there has been speculation that Georgia is trying to force the federal government's hand by shaming it into action." In other words, instead of funding the ongoing War in Iraq, the state of Georgia is trying to force Congress to spend some of that estimated $93 billion dollars on American children instead. And while health insurance for children is certainly worth the money, Pat Willis, executive director of Voices for Georgia's Children reminds us that it's never a good idea to use children's health as a bargaining chip.
The news at isnurancenewsnet.com is good - but not good enough. Health insurance rates have seen the smallest rise since 1999. Too bad that rise is still 2 times higher than the rate of inflation. In fact, health insurance rates have gone up 87% since 2000, while wages have only gone up 20% in the same time span. And, though the most current insurance rates have only risen 7.7% in the last year, that's still too high for most people to pay. The number of uninsured Americans is at an all-time high, with 46.6 million people unable to afford insurance at all. It's a tragedy that 8.3 million of those are children, who won't be receiving the kind of health care that they need to grow into healthy adults. There's legislation on the table that may help in the near future, including a rise in the minimum wage, talk of subsidizing health insurance at the state level, and even a national plan. But, until these things are actually made available to the average American, the lack of affordable health insurance will only continue to plague the uninsured.
At CBSNews.com, soda calories are linked to rising obesity, as well as lowered calcium intake, another factor leading to the inflated costs of health insurance. Researchers at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill analyzed national beverage consumption patterns for more than 73,000 Americans, age 2 and older. Their discoveries span almost 30 years, and have found that Americans today get more calories from soda than from milk. Sadly, children from 2 to 18 are getting less of their calcium and protein, since their soda intake has doubled, no doubt contributing to the child obesity epidemic we're facing today. The complications from soda intake are definitely problematic: osteoporosis, lowered calcium levels, tooth decay, weight gain, and more. Not surprisingly, these same factors have also influenced health insurance rates; obesity in particular costs more than $70 billion dollars a year in health related costs. And with more than 1/3rd of all Americans lacking good dental insurance, this increase in soda intake does not bode well for the developing teeth of children. Sadly, health insurance costs are not likely to go down, since this next generation of Americans will be the first to have a significantly lower lifespan than their parents. With soda calories pouring in, and healthy options being left behind, the health care costs that have inflated our health insurance premiums will be very difficult to avoid.
At seniorjournal.com, recent data on the treatment of patients with potential heart attacks reveals that alongside race and gender, a lack of affordable health insurance leads to inadequate care. The study, based on data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Health Care Survey of Emergency Departments, and spanning 5 years, found "that race, gender and insurance differences were factors in the type of care patients received at emergency departments." In other words, if you're not white, not male, and/or you don't have health insurance, you're not likely to get very good care. In fact, those who had some form of government subsidized health insurance were still not likely to get treatment for chest pain, one of the biggest indicators of a heart attack. In some cases, there was almost a 25% discrepancy in care; these patients were "21% less likely to be placed on cardiac monitoring, 23% less likely to have oxygen saturation measured, and more than 13% less likely to receive chest radiography than patients covered by commercial insurance." The double bind here is at the core of the health insurance debate as it rages on in this country: if you can't afford health insurance you will either fail to get good treatment, or get treatment that you can't afford. Taxpayers often end up paying for treatment of the uninsured, which then leads to higher insurance premiums, and then even more people can't afford coverage. Until affordable health insurance is available to all this situation simply won't go away; those people with the right amount of money (and therefore health insurance), of the right race, or the right gender, will get health care that can save their lives, while everyone else has to make do with what they can get, and hope for the best.
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