Universal Health Care, and Why America Needs It

America is the only developed Western country without some kind of universal health coverage for its citizens. We have over 45 million people in this country whose only medical resource is to go to the emergency rooms when they finally can't ignore their illnesses any longer, racking up expensive medical bills, while receiving low quality care. Eighty percent of these uninsured are hard working people who are unable to obtain insurance through their employers, either because the employer does not offer it, or if it is offered, the premiums are too expensive, or they are not eligible due to working only part-time, or have not worked there long enough. With our health care system the way it is, every time a worker leaves, changes jobs, or loses their jobs, they also lose their health care coverage.

This system causes our insured, and uninsured, to file unnecessary bankruptcy. In 2001, over 50% of bankruptcies were caused in full, or in part, by illnesses or medical debts, and of those, 75% were insured at the time they got sick, and 68% had coverage at the time they filed. In the two years before filing bankruptcy, many families went without food, had a utility shut off, did not fill a doctor's prescription, or went without additional needed medical care.

Profit-based insurance companies have paid politicians hundreds of millions of dollars over the last six years to make sure the U.S. does not adopt a universal health care system. The insurance companies cost the tax payers millions through their wastefulness, by using extreme amounts of time duplicating paper work, claims approvals, insurance submissions, and excessive marketing expenses.

They get rich by denying claims, raising premiums, deductibles, co-pays, screening out health risk individuals, and people with pre-existing conditions, by denying coverage, or charging an even higher premium or deductible. Over the last five years, health insurance premiums rose 73%, while wage growth only rose 15%, and inflation, 14%. For a family of four, insurance premiums average $11,000 per year; that's about equal to a full-time minimum wage worker!