The Roosevelt Institution
Vicki H. Readling, once a middle class mother, recently lost her health insurance. Now, she is struggling to make ends meet – taking only half of her prescribed cancer medication because that is all she can afford.
Readling is one of over 45 million Americans who lack health insurance, a number that rose by a startling 1.3 million just from 2004 to 2005. The rise is part of a slow, steady trend over the past 20 years toward decreased insurance coverage. This is not promising, as half of the 1.5 million personal bankruptcies filed annually are the result of illnesses and medical bills.
It would seem that greater health insurance coverage is needed. However, most individuals who filed for bankruptcy actually had insurance coverage. 75% were insured when their illness began, and although 38% at least temporarily lost insurance, many remained insured throughout the entirety of their illness. Therefore, systematic insurance reform, as well as universal coverage, is needed.
The majority of Americans now support a system of national health insurance (NHI). NHI would guarantee coverage to all Americans for all necessary medical care. Hospitals and clinics would still operate as private institutions, receiving a negotiated, yearly-changing operating budget from the NHI. At the onset, funds would be redirected from current insurance coverage to NHI. They would eventually be raised from a progressive income tax.
According to a group of physicians who studied the matter, NHI would “save at least $150 billion annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the private, investor-owned insurance industry and reducing spending for marketing and other satellite services.” These savings would more than offset the additional costs of increased, better service delivery.
Unmeasured but significant is the preventive care to which previously uninsured individuals would have access. This compounds savings because, as individuals are encouraged to seek treatment sooner, fewer illnesses would go untreated and result in major, costly medical emergencies.
Some would call this plan the next wave of socialized medicine. Settle down McCarthy. The private operation of medical facilities maintains the efficient service and checks potential dreaded waiting lines. Moreover, concerns about practitioner autonomy are irrelevant.
As a result, NHI seems like an effective tool in combating the growing problem of uninsurance. We better do something soon. The number of Vicki Readlings depending on our action is growing rapidly.