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Congressman Chris Van Hollen of Maryland plans to introduce legislation next week that would allow states to provide cheap prescription drugs to their residents, potentially removing some of the out-of-pocket expenses linked to individual health insurance. According to the article at wtopnews.com, "the bill would allow states to use their purchasing power to require drug companies to provide discounts on medications for low-wage workers. States could negotiate the same breaks they get for people on Medicaid." Patients would get discount cards to take with them to the pharmacy, to ensure that they have access to cheap prescription drugs, and the savings could be passed on to those with no drug coverage. Prescription medications are one of the leading problems blocking greater access to affordable individual health insurance. As Americans become less healthy, as they see medications advertised on TV, and as doctors prescribe them more often, prescription drug coverage is difficult to negotiate for anyone hoping to purchase individual health insurance, and a leading cause of distress for seniors and older Americans who need these medications, but can't afford coverage. Previous attempts to curtail the cost of medications have been blocked by pharmaceutical companies, but as the public outcry against healthcare costs continue to rise, more and more politicians are working to respond to their constituents.
This week former Mayor of New York and republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani publicly released his plan to make affordable health insurance available to all Americans should he be nominated president. At forbes.com the plan is summarized as "a consumer-oriented solution to the nation's health care woes that relies on giving individuals tax credits to purchase private insurance." The key to Giuliani's bid for affordable health insurance is the $15,000 tax deduction he wants available for families who purchase medical coverage. Any leftover funds could be rolled over year-to-year for medical expenses. But detractors argue that this plan requires families to purchase insurance first, and enjoy their tax deduction at the end of the year when they file. Of the 43 million Americans who couldn't afford medical coverage last year, many of them have families. If they could have paid for coverage, chances are they would have. But Giuliani argues that this plan for providing affordable health insurance would cost less than the universal plans being offered up by his democratic rivals, and preserve some of the benefits enjoyed by Americans who do enjoy good medical coverage, like superior care and fast services. Many small businesses support this kind of plan, since it removes the burden of providing medical coverage from them, an issue that many employers have been struggling with as healthcare costs go up.
At kansascity.com, Michael Moore's film "Sicko" is the basis for a discussion regarding medical coverage in other countries, leaving us to ask, 'is private health insurance really the problem?' According to the article, while Canadians and others enjoy free, universal healthcare, this doesn't mean that they're getting the best care available. The sick often have to wait for treatment, whether they're in pain or not, and the most up-to-date treatments and medications simply aren't available to them. But on the other hand, they do enjoy checkups and medical care for smaller injuries and illnesses that can keep disease at bay. Statistically, those in this country who enjoy private health insurance and follow up on their yearly appointments are much less likely to get sick, need emergency care, or fall into medical debt. However, we do have a problem here that Canadians and Europeans don't have: we aren't very healthy to begin with. With 60% of Americans overweight or obese, our medical costs are skyrocketing. And whether it's private health insurance or universal healthcare, the billions of dollars we pay for being unhealthy are keeping insurance costs out of reach. Moore's topic of discussion is a good one that deserves national and political attention. But as this article makes clear, this is a complicated problem that will need a lot of hard work to keep America healthy.
While the idea of advocating universal healthcare used to be more than unlikely in corporate America, the rising costs of group health insurance have led manufacturing and sales giants, like Wal-Mart and Safeway, to join in the fight against inflated healthcare costs. According to MSNBC, "Health care costs are eating into company profits like never before. Insurance premiums for American companies are rising at a rate much faster then inflation. A 2006 Kaiser Family Foundation report found premiums for company insurance plans have increased by 87 percent since 2000." As a result, Wal-Mart cut back noticeably in its group health insurance coverage plans, and prompted a public outcry that didn't do much for its family-friendly image. Most people in favor of healthcare reform are pleased to have such large and powerful supporters, and considering the lobbying power of Wal-Mart and Safeway, many people believe that changes in group health insurance policies and individual plans is on the way. But change will be slow, an in the meantime those who are in search of good medical coverage will still need to shop around aggressively to find a deal that covers their basic checkups and needs.
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reported this week new obesity statistics that predict a dark future in American healthcare, and with it, the potential for even greater disparity in medical treatments for those who don't enjoy the benefits of individual health insurance or employer based coverage. Researchers, cited by medicalnewstoday.com, found "that obesity/overweight rates in America have been steadily increasing at a median rate of 0.2% to 0.8% annually over the past three decades across a wide spectrum of society," and that should current trends continue, "Three-quarters of Americans will be overweight by 2015." At the same time, obesity and disease related to obesity (including heart disease and diabetes) are the number 1 killers in America today, and have contributed to the spike in costs associated with healthcare in general, and the costs of individual health insurance and small business health insurance in particular. So, could these obesity statistics predict an even greater disparity in medical treatment for those who will suffer from disease? For those who don't get medical coverage, don't go to yearly checkups, and don't take precautions against obesity, the answer could easily be yes. However, other obesity statistics have found that those with some kind of individual health insurance, and who attend regular checkups, are far more likely to stop dangerous diseases before they can become life threatening. And this saves not only lives, but costs as well; long term treatments are much more expensive than yearly appointments, proving yet again that access to medical coverage is truly a life saver.
The struggle this week between the U.S. Senate panel and President Bush regarding the financing of a children's health care program has many consumers confused, but at its heart the argument is one between making affordable family health insurance more available, and providing children with subsidized medical coverage. As it's explained at Reuters, "the Senate Finance Committee voted 17-4 to provide an extra $35 billion in health care coverage for low income children, setting the stage for a battle with the White House over an issue that is likely to play a role in next year's presidential election." The Senate's plan includes financing SCHIP, or the State Children's Health Insurance Program, with a tax hike applied to cigarettes and cigars. The tax would add another $1 to a pack of cigarettes, a move that would also hypothetically deter teen and adult smokers, and as much as $10 to expensive cigars. The president, on the other hand, wants to make family health insurance better available through tax breaks. In response to the move by the Senate Bush reiterated his opposition to the bill, claiming that "it would expand the government's role in health care and undermine the private U.S. health care system." Most analysts predict that Bush will veto the bill, but in either case, providing family health insurance that covers children will certainly occupy a lot of the time and energies of upcoming presidential hopefuls.
At Boston.com, the plight of uninsured rural children proves that rural areas are in dire need of affordable family health insurance. As fewer and fewer employers can afford to offer medical coverage for the families of employees, those in rural areas have been hardest hit. And, as more industrial jobs move overseas, the situation has gotten a great deal worse. Public subsidized insurance for rural children has gone up in enrollment, from 38% in 1998, to an astounding 54% in 2005. And at the same time, the number of children covered by an employer offered insurance plan also dropped another 10%. It appears that family health insurance costs have just become too high; after all, 3/4 of those uninsured children in rural areas have at least 1 parent working full-time, year-round. One avenue of relief appears to be in SCHIP, or the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which offers medical coverage to children whose parents make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but don't get employer offered insurance. And it's also a good idea to shop online for more competitive family health insurance prices; there are many deals that insurance companies offer for less online, or when they know that the consumer is comparing the plans and rates of many different agencies before choosing the one they like best.
Michigan health insurance is changing in response to shifts in the medical coverage market. But, as the insurance market consolidates it isn't clear how this will affect the average person in search of coverage. According to crainsdetroit.com, which cites the Michigan Managed Care Review 2007, Michigan health insurance enrollment declined last year after 2 straight years of record profits. Apparently, the high cost of medical coverage, combined with less employer based insurance, has created the first drop in insurance profits seen in the state for many years. As a result, hospital systems are opting out of the insurance business, consolidating the market and limiting the number of places where Michigan health insurance will be available to state residents. In one way this is good news - when insurance companies begin to lose profit, they take more notice of the medical coverage situation that most Americans are struggling to deal with. But in another way this limits the market in Michigan, which usually provides for more competitive prices. Those Michiganites in search of coverage are advised to shop around aggressively online for the best deals in their state; hopefully as profits decline more insurance agencies will be forced to lower their prices and give the public some healthcare relief.
At MSNBC, Jean Chatzky offers tips on how to find the right affordable health insurance plan. And they all make perfect sense, but there are a couple that she left out. First, number one on that list should be "shop around." Sure, it's good to know what's available in your state, and it's also good to know what you want, but what most people don't know is that by shopping around, particularly online, they can find an affordable health insurance plan at a more competitive price. This is because, regardless of the inflated costs of healthcare today, health insurance is still an open market. By knowing exactly what you want, and what you can and can't afford, and by shopping around as much as possible, it will be much easier to get the plan you want at a rate you'll like. And the next big tip ought to be this one: read the fine print. Be aware that premiums are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to medical coverage costs. There're deductibles to worry about, and out-of-pocket costs for medications and treatments. If you only plan to see the doctor once or twice a year for checkups, these things matter less, but then again, don't we all plan to see the doctor as little as possible? Accidents happen to everyone, and knowing what kind of costs are on the way can help you to plan around an affordable health insurance plan that really is affordable.
As Democratic presidential nominees jockey for public approval, their various approaches to health insurance coverage reflect the potential for future change that could move in many different directions. According to the washingtonpost.com, there are at least 3 different debates going on regarding medical coverage in America today. The first and most public, touted by presidential hopeful Barack Obama, is for a universal health care system applicable across the board for all American citizens. But arguments against universal health insurance coverage argue that it would be too costly, and inflate taxes beyond what Americans can pay. Ezekiel Emanuel, a doctor and bioethics expert and the brother of Democratic Representative Rahm Emanuel, argues that our current medical coverage system is so dysfunctional that it must be completely abandoned and replaced by a plan "in which people can buy coverage themselves with a voucher." But, perhaps the most tenable of them all is the one from economist Jonathan Gruber, whose health insurance coverage plan is more incremental, and similar to the Massachusetts plan recently enacted last year. This plan provides subsidies to people who can't pay for coverage, and increases public programs like Medicaid. Which plan will become the most popular remains to be seen, but as the nominations draw near, it's clear that medical coverage has finally received the political attention it needs to lead us towards the insurance plan we've all been looking for.
Private health insurance costs and their steady rise may well be related to the large jump in hospital and doctor's visits reported this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At Scientific American, the study reveals a 20% jump in such visits, alongside a similar rise in the prescription of medications like antidepressants. Why such a big surge? Scientific American suggests that the aging of the baby boomers is leading to a large demand for doctors, medications, and yes, private health insurance to cover the costs not included in employer coverage or Medicare. Others suggest that the intense advertisement of prescriptions drugs by pharmaceutical giants leads more consumers and doctors to ask for such medications. Furthermore, the rising tide of obesity has also been blamed, since everything from cancer, to diabetes, to heart disease has been linked to being overweight. Regardless, it's clear that supply and demand go hand-in-hand, proving that private health insurance costs are related more to the market, and less to the demands of greedy insurance agencies.
One Indiana insurance agency is making waves as its employee health insurance plan arranges to charge more for those considered unhealthy. According to an article at Fox News, Starting in 2009, Clarian Health will begin charging workers extra for insurance if they let health risks such as smoking, obesity or high cholesterol go unchecked. Questionnaires and screenings will be used to determine those workers with health risks, and those who fail to measure up in a total of 5 areas, including body mass index and blood pressure, will pay up to $70 more per month for their employee health insurance plan. The new rule is controversial because federal law doesn't allow discrimination against any person in a group or employee health insurance plan based on personal health factors. But, as healthcare costs skyrocket, others feel that a little personal responsibility will be a good thing. Smoking and the health risks associated with being overweight are two major contributors to the rising costs of healthcare, and those who don't participate in such behaviors have long complained about sharing the costs. Regardless, as one registered nurse put it, perhaps this will help people to adopt a healthier lifestyle and qualify for more affordable medical coverage. Come 2009, it will be interesting to see.
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