Death, Bribes, Cheating & Bankruptcy: What Healthcare Reform Isn't
Posted: Friday, September 25, 2009
by Edward Rhymes
As the Senate is hashing over some 500 or more amendments to the healthcare bills that have been presented by the various committees, I believe that it is important to realize where we are currently as it pertains to healthcare in America.
Nearly 45,000 people die in the United States each year - one every 12 minutes - in large part because they lack health insurance and cannot get good care, Harvard Medical School researchers found in an analysis released on Thursday, September 17th.
We are effectively losing more and more Americans every day as a result of this healthcare crisis --- more than drunk driving and homicide combined. Overall, researchers said American adults age 64 and younger who lack health insurance have a 40 percent higher risk of death than those who have coverage.
A similar study in 1993 found those without insurance had a 25 percent greater risk of death, according to the Harvard group. The Institute of Medicine later used that data in its 2002 estimate showing about 18,000 people a year died because they lacked coverage.
Part of the increased risk now is due to the growing ranks of the uninsured, Himmelstein said. Roughly 46.3 million people in the United States lacked coverage in 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported last week, up from 45.7 million in 2007.
Another factor is that there are fewer places for the uninsured to get good care. Public hospitals and clinics are closing or scaling back across the country in cities like Chicago, New York, Detroit and many others.
The co-author of the Harvard study, Dr. Steffie Woolhandler said the findings show that without proper care, uninsured people are more likely to die from complications associated with preventable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
Was the healthcare industry moved by compassion to address this concern? Not in the least. As a matter of fact, a new report from the Center for Responsive Politics reports that federal lawmakers collected about $15.3 million in donations from the health sector between April and June. Pharmaceutical and health insurance companies increased their contributions by eight percent, while health professionals and hospitals maintained their rate of donations.
Additionally, another study showed that more than half of the $1.1 million in campaign donations given to the group of right-leaning Democrats known as the Blue Dog Coalition came from the pharmaceutical, healthcare and health insurance industries. The Center for Public Integrity says the Blue Dogs received more donations than any other congressional grouping over the same period. On average, the Blue Dogs received over $62,000 more from the health industry than other Democrats.
The numbers clearly show a Congress that is not, by and large, representing those who are in most need of care, but rather the interests of the healthcare lobby. However death and payoffs are not the only transgressions that are in need of our examination.
A congressional probe found that private health insurers have forced consumers to pay billions of dollars in medical costs that the insurers should have paid. In a report, from this past June, the Senate Commerce Committee says insurers have relied on faulty databases that have led to underpaying on millions of valid claims for out-of-network medical care. Patients have been forced to make up the difference. The report says the databases' errors were easily disguised because insurers have failed to properly inform consumers on how they calculate charges for out-of-network costs. The databases are owned by a company named Ingenix. The firm has a financial incentive to underpay consumers: it's a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest private insurers. In addition to UnitedHealth, at least seventeen other leading insurance companies have relied on Ingenix's data.
Now that we have seen what levels of moral bankruptcy are involved in the healthcare industry and the U.S. Congress, let us take a look at the actual bankruptcy and indebtedness that these practices and policies create:
So this is where we are right here; right now in this current healthcare reform debacle. Is this acceptable to us as a nation; as a society? If not, where's the pushback? Where is the opposition to such practices? There are some that believe that this is a distraction from more important matters. Those things are usually said by those who are in good health and/or have excellent healthcare coverage.
However, the families of the more than 45,000 who die annually because of a lack of healthcare coverage know better; the 50 percent of those who file for bankruptcy, in part, because of medical bills know better; the 1.5 million Americans who will lose their homes this year because of healthcare cost know better; and the everyday Americans who have watched their premiums rise at a higher rate than their wages know better. When will we as a nation; as a country learn and do better?
Sources :
Nearly 45,000 people die in the United States each year - one every 12 minutes - in large part because they lack health insurance and cannot get good care, Harvard Medical School researchers found in an analysis released on Thursday, September 17th.
A similar study in 1993 found those without insurance had a 25 percent greater risk of death, according to the Harvard group. The Institute of Medicine later used that data in its 2002 estimate showing about 18,000 people a year died because they lacked coverage.
Part of the increased risk now is due to the growing ranks of the uninsured, Himmelstein said. Roughly 46.3 million people in the United States lacked coverage in 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported last week, up from 45.7 million in 2007.
Another factor is that there are fewer places for the uninsured to get good care. Public hospitals and clinics are closing or scaling back across the country in cities like Chicago, New York, Detroit and many others.
The co-author of the Harvard study, Dr. Steffie Woolhandler said the findings show that without proper care, uninsured people are more likely to die from complications associated with preventable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
Was the healthcare industry moved by compassion to address this concern? Not in the least. As a matter of fact, a new report from the Center for Responsive Politics reports that federal lawmakers collected about $15.3 million in donations from the health sector between April and June. Pharmaceutical and health insurance companies increased their contributions by eight percent, while health professionals and hospitals maintained their rate of donations.
Additionally, another study showed that more than half of the $1.1 million in campaign donations given to the group of right-leaning Democrats known as the Blue Dog Coalition came from the pharmaceutical, healthcare and health insurance industries. The Center for Public Integrity says the Blue Dogs received more donations than any other congressional grouping over the same period. On average, the Blue Dogs received over $62,000 more from the health industry than other Democrats.
The numbers clearly show a Congress that is not, by and large, representing those who are in most need of care, but rather the interests of the healthcare lobby. However death and payoffs are not the only transgressions that are in need of our examination.
A congressional probe found that private health insurers have forced consumers to pay billions of dollars in medical costs that the insurers should have paid. In a report, from this past June, the Senate Commerce Committee says insurers have relied on faulty databases that have led to underpaying on millions of valid claims for out-of-network medical care. Patients have been forced to make up the difference. The report says the databases' errors were easily disguised because insurers have failed to properly inform consumers on how they calculate charges for out-of-network costs. The databases are owned by a company named Ingenix. The firm has a financial incentive to underpay consumers: it's a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest private insurers. In addition to UnitedHealth, at least seventeen other leading insurance companies have relied on Ingenix's data.
Now that we have seen what levels of moral bankruptcy are involved in the healthcare industry and the U.S. Congress, let us take a look at the actual bankruptcy and indebtedness that these practices and policies create:
- National surveys show that the primary reason people are uninsured is the high cost of health insurance coverage.
- Economists have found that rising health care costs correlate to drops in health insurance coverage.
- A 2005 study by Harvard University researchers found that the average out-of-pocket medical debt for those who filed for bankruptcy was $12,000. The study noted that 68 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy had health insurance. In addition, the study found that 50 percent of all bankruptcy filings were partly the result of medical expenses. Every 30 seconds in the United States someone files for bankruptcy in the aftermath of a serious health problem.
- More than 25 percent said that housing problems resulted from medical debt, including the inability to make rent or mortgage payments and the development of bad credit ratings.
- About 1.5 million families lose their homes to foreclosure every year due to unaffordable medical costs.
- Retiring elderly couples will need $250,000 in savings just to pay for the most basic medical coverage. Many experts believe that this figure is conservative and that $300,000 may be a more realistic number.
- Health insurance expenses are the fastest growing cost component for employers.
- Premiums for employer-based health insurance rose by 5.0 percent in 2008. In 2007, small employers saw their premiums, on average, increase 5.5 percent. Firms with less than 24 workers experienced an increase of 6.8 percent.
- The annual premium that a health insurer charges an employer for a health plan covering a family of four averaged $12,700 in 2008. Workers contributed nearly $3,400 or 12 percent more than they did in 2007. The annual premiums for family coverage significantly eclipsed the gross earnings for a full-time, minimum-wage worker ($10,712).
- Workers are now paying $1,600 more in premiums annually for family coverage than they did in 1999.
- Since 1999, employment-based health insurance premiums have increased 120 percent, compared to cumulative inflation of 44 percent and cumulative wage growth of 29 percent during the same period.
So this is where we are right here; right now in this current healthcare reform debacle. Is this acceptable to us as a nation; as a society? If not, where's the pushback? Where is the opposition to such practices? There are some that believe that this is a distraction from more important matters. Those things are usually said by those who are in good health and/or have excellent healthcare coverage.
However, the families of the more than 45,000 who die annually because of a lack of healthcare coverage know better; the 50 percent of those who file for bankruptcy, in part, because of medical bills know better; the 1.5 million Americans who will lose their homes this year because of healthcare cost know better; and the everyday Americans who have watched their premiums rise at a higher rate than their wages know better. When will we as a nation; as a country learn and do better?
Sources :
- Keehan, S. et al. "Health Spending Projections Through 2017, Health Affairs Web Exclusive W146: 21 February 2008.
- The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Employee Health Benefits: 2008 Annual Survey. September 2008.
- California Health Care Foundation. Health Care Costs 101 -- 2005. 02 March 2005.
- Pear, R., "U.S. Health Care Spending Reaches All-Time High: 15% of GDP." The New York Times, 9 January 2004, 3.
- McKinsey and Company. The McKinsey Quarterly Chart Focus Newsletter, "Will Health Benefit Costs Eclipse Profits," September, 2004.
- The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Employee Health Benefits: 2008 Annual Survey. September 2008.
- Agency for Heathcare Research and Quality. Out-of-Pocket Expenditures on Health Care and Insurance Premiums Among the Non-elderly Population, 2003, March 2006.
- The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The Uninsured: A Primer, Key Facts About Americans without Health Insurance. 2004. 10 November 2004
- Himmelstein, D, E. Warren, D. Thorne, and S. Woolhander, "Illness and Injury as Contributors to Bankruptcy, " Health Affairs Web Exclusive W5-63, 02 February , 2005.
- The Access Project. Home Sick: How Medical Debt Undermines Housing Security. Boston, MA, November 2005.
- Robertson, C.T., et al. "Get Sick, Get Out: The Medical Causes of Home Mortgage Foreclosures," Health Matrix, 2008
- Selzer and Company Inc. Department of Public Health 2005 Survey of Iowa Consumers, September 2005.
- Fidelity Investments, Press Release, 06 March 2006.
- McKinsey Global Institute. Accounting for the Cost in the United States. January 2007
This Article has been viewed 894 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
More commentsThank you for sharing your opinion. Very well researched article, by the way.Thanks for commenting Jay.
Great article! Our health care system will soon collapse on the sword of its own greed, then we will finally have socialized medicine. Yay! Even Wall Street ran to good old Uncle Sam in a hurry when it fell apart from unbridled greed and gambling. Our health care? system is a world disgrace. Those who are satisfied with their policies are whistling past the graveyard. It won't be long now. By the way, BCBS just declined my wife for coverage. She has no preexisting conditions, but had a few problems that were cured years ago. All they want is the cream. Aetna is worse. They declined to pay a hospital bill that even the hospital admitted they should pay. But where do you go to complain, to your local Republican congressperson! :)
Best..............eThanks e! I am sorry to hear about your wife and her story highlights the need for real, transformative healthcare reform. I have one small point f disagreement however. In the writing of this piece, I did not lay the blame, entirely, at the the feet of just one political party. There is more than enough blame to go around when it comes to our elected officials. I appreciate you reading and commenting e.
Awesome work here, Edward. I can't tell you what it would take to get me to the doctor- just can't afford it.With the rising insurance costs and the rising deductibles and the decrease in coverage and the anal nature of the insurance companies when it comes time to write a check, well, there you go.Thank you, I feel better now!
I had , once again, forgotten to log on.Awesome work here, Edward. I can't tell you what it would take to get me to the doctor- just can't afford it.With the rising insurance costs and the rising deductibles and the decrease in coverage and the anal nature of the insurance companies when it comes time to write a check, well, there you go.Thank you, I feel better now!Thanks Anonymous Ken :)! I will repeat to you what I said concerning e's wife: your story highlights why we need REAL, transformative healthcare reform. I am sorry that that is the case for you and I am glad you could vent --- you can lie on my couch anytime! Blessings brother!
The only way to truly improve the medical system in this country is to put each person directly in control of their own health care. Neither the government, nor any insurance company should decide who gets what care.This means you choose your own doctors and specialists, and you pay them directly for their services. Too expensive? The high price is directly caused by government regulation that: 1) eliminates competition between insurance companies between states, 2) medicare that pays much less than the services medicare recipients receive is worth (doctors and hospitals make up the loss by charging you more for the services you get), 3) a legal system that outright encourages lawsuits against doctors (doctors respond by giving you a lot of services you don't need and charging you for them just to protect themselves).In short, government regulation is causing these problems. More regulation will only make everything more expensive and less available.We need to regulate how health practitioners are licensed and trained, then we need to end the regulation right there and let the free market work. Only the free market cares if you are happy with the services you receive. Neither the government nor the insurance companies do. We need to take medicare and lawsuits out of the picture so you and your doctor are the only ones who decide how you maintain your health. We need insurance companies for catastrophic coverage only. People need to learn to take personal responsibility for paying for all care that is non catastrophic.The reforms the democratic socialist party in congress want will not allow you to decide for yourself what care you get any more than you can now. It will simply transfer the decision making authority from insurance companies to government.What makes any of us think government run healthcare will provide better service for less money? All you have to do is look at everything government runs right now - medicare, social security, the post office, etc. They are all bankrupt right now. Do you really want a government bureaocrat who has never even met you to decide what healthcare you get for the rest of your life? Do you really want the federal government to run 1/6th of the US economy the way they have run everything else they control right now? Do you really think they will be successful? Do you really think they will allow you to receive all the healthcare you want? When they are in charge, they can deny you. Government run healthcare is an economic and social disaster waiting to happen.BRAVO. I suspect we do not need more government but that government needs to listen more carefully to "we, the people..."You have some very valid points here (I am a retired RN and have seen the health care issues from both sides) - while there is no easy solution I think we do have one of the best health care systems in the world - YES, it needs some fixing but not by socializing medicine I don't think -have freinds in Canada, Great Britian and Australia and they could give you an earful. MarijoThanks Marijo. I believe that we have the best healthcare system in the world, IF you can afford it; IF the coverage you signed up won't be snatched from under you when you need it; and IF you can't be excluded for pre-existing conditions.I've said this before Marijo, that I know people in those systems who are, conversely, extremely pleased with their healthcare coverage. I have also said that I believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege.I understand that it's not an easy nut to crack, but I also believe that we need an overhaul of what we currently have. Thanks for sparring with me sister :) ! Blessings to you!Thank you for your very detailed comment and I will attempt to answer in kind.A significant number of Americans believe that the answer to our health care problems — indeed, the only answer — is to rely on the free market. I happen to disagree. There are two strongly distinctive aspects of health care. One is that you don’t know when or whether you’ll need care — but if you do, the care can be extremely expensive. The big bucks are in triple coronary bypass surgery, not routine visits to the doctor’s office; and very, very few people can afford to pay major medical costs out of pocket.This tells you right away that health care can’t be sold like bread. It must be largely paid for by some kind of insurance. And this in turn means that someone other than the patient ends up making decisions about what to buy. Consumer choice is fiction when it comes to health care.This problem is made worse by the fact that actually paying for your health care is a loss from an insurers’ point of view — they actually refer to it as “medical costs.” This means both that insurers try to deny as many claims as possible, and that they try to avoid covering people who are actually likely to need care. Both of these strategies use a lot of resources, which is why private insurance has much higher administrative costs than the "notorious" government-run systems.The second thing about health care is that it’s complicated, and you can’t rely on experience or comparison shopping. That’s why doctors are supposed to follow an ethical code, why we expect more from them than from bakers or grocery store owners.You could rely on a health maintenance organization to make the hard choices and do the cost management, and to some extent we do. But HMOs have been highly limited in their ability to achieve cost-effectiveness because people don’t trust them — they’re profit-making institutions, and your treatment is their cost.Between those two factors, health care just doesn’t work as a standard market story.Additionally, the average Medicare recipient seems to be pretty satisfied with it --- Polls show that 80% of Medicare beneficiaries are either "extremely" or "very" satisfied with Medicare (Suffolk University Study, August 2009). I believe that the well-being of a citizenry cannot always be measured on ledger sheet.As far as lawsuits or tort reform goes, I believe it somewhat of a red herring. For example:*A 2004 report by the Congressional Budget Office said medical malpractice makes up only 2 percent of U.S. health spending. Even “significant reductions” would do little to curb health-care expenses.*The estimated cost of jury awards at about $12 per person in the U.S., or about $3.6 billion --- we spend about $2.3 trillion annually on health care --- meaning it would only be a drop in the bucket (Chandra, Amitabh, Shantanu Nundy, and Seth A. Seabury. "The Growth Of Physician Medical Malpractice Payments: Evidence From The National Practitioner Data Bank." Health Affairs Web Exclusive 24 {Jan./Jun. 2005})*Of the top 25 jury awards so far this year, only one was a malpractice case --- additionally, 30 states now cap damages in medical lawsuits.*Currently, only about two of every 100 patients injured by malpractice ever receive compensations*Currently, most health insurance premiums aren’t tied to the number of claims filed against the doctor.*Medical malpractice is “not a major driver” of spending trends in recent years, Indianapolis-based WellPoint, the largest U.S. insurer by enrollment, said in May 27 report.I don’t believe that deregulation was or is the problem. I believe free-market private corporatism being superior to government should have been fairly debunked with the bailout, nationalization and quasi-nationalization of private corporations such as: Bank of America, Citigroup, AIG, American Express, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and others. All were beneficiaries of the lax regulation of Wall Street; all recipients of the corporate welfare that we have been in engaged in for decades.There are already bureaucrats that are determining the level of healthcare we receive; what doctors we can see and what prescriptions are paid for. We keep talking as if these things aren’t already taking place. Americans are already being denied. That argument is akin to the things that were said just before Medicare became law. I believe it was and is a humane response by a government to a fundamental need of its citizens.I have always been somewhat befuddled by the circular reasoning of many of those who believes in this government is always the problem-ideology. When government fails to properly address a problem it proves their point and when corporations fail and the markets fail, then government is the reason why. It’s a kind of heads I win, tails you lose-mentality. Nothing ever seems to disprove the ideology --- even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I find that inconsistent and troubling. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts Lisa.
Dr Rhymes, the thorough research infused with the all-too-real element of how tragic our health-care system has become was expressed in an essential manner through your writing. As one who has benefited greatly (literally being kept alive by contemporary medicine - and not apart from the omnipotence of the Lord), I am extremely grateful that I have had access to the extensive care I have needed. I am all too aware of the impending dangers of those who are not elligble for healthcare in any way, and truly believe this to be a sin of our nation of which we will someday (if not soon) be held greatly accountable (Matt 25). For those of us who profess the name of Christ, we sincerely need to address the fears (and greed) from which most of the opposition to a public option arises. Of what are we afraid? That Christian charity should overpower worldy greed? That the least of these among us should not receive the care that Jesus not only bore the stripes upon His back for, but of which He told us we would be judged upon? When the deficits (trillions of dollars) came out of a hasty and ill-informed decision to send us to war were created, the cry was that we could always find the money. But when it comes to actually saving lives and improving upon the quality of life, we won't do it ? (even when there has been a carefully researched proposal to provide for this)? Who are we kidding? Our nation that touts Christianity is all too far from living up to Christ's mandates of truly caring for the least of these. One way or another we will pay. I only hope, for those of us professing Christ, that we find ourselves doing what He would have us do. Yes, I know that the governmant is not expected to do what the Church is to do; but I pose this for my friends who vote to elect government officials based on their ideas of Christian morality and how they expect their government officials to respond morally to such issues (ie. abortion ). Is taking care of the sick not also a serious moral issue?Your thoughtful humane manner of loving your neighbor as yourself was evident here, Dr. Rhymes. Thank you for making this article clear and greatly supported with research that anyone may access. May the Lord richly bless you with His eternal provisions as you continue in His will!Thanks Anon. I feel compelled by my relationship with Christ to speak to the things that impact the least of these among us, so I'm pleased that you drew that connection. I do believe that a society is judged by its treatment of its most vulnerable citizens and we have work to do. There is a great deal we can be thankful for in this country, but we do have more work to do. May God richly bless you as well.
In my opinion, based upon the evidence, government run health care will result in sky high deficits, a reduction in access to health care overall, and intrusive government control into our lives.The bottom line is, I believe in the free marketplace and individual freedom. You believe in big government and socialism.
We will need to agree to disagree.Thanks for responding Lisa. I do agree that we disagree. However, in your response you essentially say you fear what we already have --- except the intrusion is from the healthcare industry instead of the government. I also believe that markets are not actually free when powerful interests can effectively buy the people who are supposed to represent the interests of the American people.
I believe in individual freedom, but I also believe in a humane and just approach to this most serious crisis called healthcare in America. And if that makes me a socialist in the eyes of some, so be it --- the title does not frighten me. Thanks again for responding and sharing your thoughts with me.
Healthcare is a hot-button of controversy because it's personal, and a greater portion of the $900 billion spent each year taken by the healthcare industry has nothing to do with anyone's health (except for the health of a few bank accounts), and these people don't want to give up the money they steal. As you mention in your article, it's the people with the money (healthcare industry leaders) who pay the politicians to vote their way. (“Money talks, it can’t sing and dance and it don’t walk.”) Major reason why we still don't have national healthcare since the bill was introduced over 40 years ago. First, you'd have to get rid of the corruption--doctors charging in-house for procedures not needed, etc. But it all comes down to big money. Healthcare is a considerable portion of our national budget and unless we can get control of how those in power influence politicians, any further discussion is moot.
Agreed. Thanks for commenting Jeff.
Dr Ryhmes,This is the most profound and extensively researched article on health care. Thank you so much for the generosity of your time and your wealth of information. Your sharing this to us meant a great deal.God bless and good health.NenitaNenita, thanks for commenting and I receive with gratitude your blessing. I try my best to be thorough in expressing a position and I am happy you appreciate it. Thanks again sister.
Dr. Rhymes.I am reading this article from the Reader's Club. I have commented already but this is another chance for me to let you know how incredibly interesting and brilliantly written this piece of work is.Best to you and yours,NenitaThanks again Nenita for reading and rating. I appreciate VERY much your kind words.
More comments
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.