Healthcare Fact Check
6 Facts to Consider Before Taking a Stand
By the time this article is published, we hope that our Congress and representatives will have finally come up with a plan that will strive to repair the broken state of our healthcare system. When I say broken, I mean that less than 100% of the population has access to a basic human right. Healthcare is a necessary evil that human beings from every social class, color, gender, sexual orientation and religion need. I don’t know of anyone who has never suffered from an illness or runs the risk of obtaining one. You can be in favor of a “public option,” a “two-tier option,” a “government mandate insurance plan,” “a government subsidy” or “a market control approach”—you name the terms, I’ve heard them. But what does that all mean? Well, let’s start with a brief history lesson before we move on to the facts.
History
On December 10, 1948, 56 countries joined together to draft what would be called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which many consider to be the foundation of the creation of what now is the United Nations. Forty-eight countries voted in favor, zero against, and eight countries decided not to vote. It had 30 basic rights any human being was entitled to. Article 25 of the UDHR stipulates the basic right to health; it reads: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”[1]
All of the countries that signed this bill—the United States included—promised to provide and encourage these rights to all individuals that lived in their countries. As of today, some sort of government healthcare has been implemented in some shape or form by every country that signed and even some developing countries, with the exception of the United States.
Now let’s start with some facts…
1. According to a recent Gallup poll done in June 2009, 16% of Americans, which is approximately 1 out of 6 Americans, do not have access to preventive healthcare. Out of this number, the rate is even more alarming among minorities. This was one of the first and largest independent studies made by a company that brings the numbers to our attention.[2]
2. The majority of insurance premiums are increasing in great part due to the fact that the 16% who don’t have access to basic preventive health coverage are abusing the use of emergency rooms. The cost for emergency room use is seven times more expensive than a routine visit, and that overhead is being passed along to insured individuals. According to data from the US Department of Health & Human Services, 1 out of 5 emergency room visits are done by uninsured patients.[3]
3. Many countries have successfully been able to run government-aided programs in many forms since 1912, with Norway being the pioneer of a sponsored program. These countries have not only not gone broke, but they have been able to lower the cost of healthcare.[4],[5]
4. A study done by the American Journal of Medicine in 2007 shows that 62.1% of bankruptcies in the United States were mainly filed due to medical reasons.[6]
5. Although insurance companies’ profits have decreased in comparison to last year, like many other industries, none of the big players have gone out of business and they are still reporting profits. According to Fortune, the latest numbers can be found here:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2009/industries/223/index.html.
6. Over $400 million have been used by insurance companies to influence the debate between ads and contributions to the members of our legislative branch.[7]
We need to fix what is broken in order to grow as a country. A real democracy has all of its individuals participating, getting informed, doing their research and making decisions. Contact your representative or Congress member. You heard what they had to say when they wanted to get elected; now it’s their turn to hear what you have to say! Whatever you’re for—single payer, a subsidy, public option, etc.—push them to work. All parties have agreed there is a need to fix the issue. Now it’s time to stop fighting and just get things done!
Ask yourself what you think about these and other facts and let’s get the conversation started.
Contact us at FactCheckGOLB@gmail.com with any topics you think are worth discussing in this section. Let’s untwist the facts and get it right, LB!
[1]http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
[2]http://www.gallup.com/poll/121820/one-six-adults-without-health-insurance.aspx
[3]http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2009/hhsuninserpr.htm
[4]http://truecostblog.com/2009/08/09/countries-with-universal-healthcare-by-date/
[5]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RB4pRZNeh8E/RrdpyqYtSYI/AAAAAAAAAyY/mk1oi65mpuo/s1600-h/Universal+Healthcare+World+Map.jpg
[6]http://www.pnhp.org/new_bankruptcy_study/Bankruptcy-2009.pdf
[7]http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/08/news/economy/health_care_lobbying/index.htm
By the time this article is published, we hope that our Congress and representatives will have finally come up with a plan that will strive to repair the broken state of our healthcare system. When I say broken, I mean that less than 100% of the population has access to a basic human right. Healthcare is a necessary evil that human beings from every social class, color, gender, sexual orientation and religion need. I don’t know of anyone who has never suffered from an illness or runs the risk of obtaining one. You can be in favor of a “public option,” a “two-tier option,” a “government mandate insurance plan,” “a government subsidy” or “a market control approach”—you name the terms, I’ve heard them. But what does that all mean? Well, let’s start with a brief history lesson before we move on to the facts.
History
On December 10, 1948, 56 countries joined together to draft what would be called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which many consider to be the foundation of the creation of what now is the United Nations. Forty-eight countries voted in favor, zero against, and eight countries decided not to vote. It had 30 basic rights any human being was entitled to. Article 25 of the UDHR stipulates the basic right to health; it reads: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”[1]
All of the countries that signed this bill—the United States included—promised to provide and encourage these rights to all individuals that lived in their countries. As of today, some sort of government healthcare has been implemented in some shape or form by every country that signed and even some developing countries, with the exception of the United States.
Now let’s start with some facts…
1. According to a recent Gallup poll done in June 2009, 16% of Americans, which is approximately 1 out of 6 Americans, do not have access to preventive healthcare. Out of this number, the rate is even more alarming among minorities. This was one of the first and largest independent studies made by a company that brings the numbers to our attention.[2]
2. The majority of insurance premiums are increasing in great part due to the fact that the 16% who don’t have access to basic preventive health coverage are abusing the use of emergency rooms. The cost for emergency room use is seven times more expensive than a routine visit, and that overhead is being passed along to insured individuals. According to data from the US Department of Health & Human Services, 1 out of 5 emergency room visits are done by uninsured patients.[3]
3. Many countries have successfully been able to run government-aided programs in many forms since 1912, with Norway being the pioneer of a sponsored program. These countries have not only not gone broke, but they have been able to lower the cost of healthcare.[4],[5]
4. A study done by the American Journal of Medicine in 2007 shows that 62.1% of bankruptcies in the United States were mainly filed due to medical reasons.[6]
5. Although insurance companies’ profits have decreased in comparison to last year, like many other industries, none of the big players have gone out of business and they are still reporting profits. According to Fortune, the latest numbers can be found here:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2009/industries/223/index.html.
6. Over $400 million have been used by insurance companies to influence the debate between ads and contributions to the members of our legislative branch.[7]
We need to fix what is broken in order to grow as a country. A real democracy has all of its individuals participating, getting informed, doing their research and making decisions. Contact your representative or Congress member. You heard what they had to say when they wanted to get elected; now it’s their turn to hear what you have to say! Whatever you’re for—single payer, a subsidy, public option, etc.—push them to work. All parties have agreed there is a need to fix the issue. Now it’s time to stop fighting and just get things done!
Ask yourself what you think about these and other facts and let’s get the conversation started.
Contact us at FactCheckGOLB@gmail.com with any topics you think are worth discussing in this section. Let’s untwist the facts and get it right, LB!
[1]http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
[2]http://www.gallup.com/poll/121820/one-six-adults-without-health-insurance.aspx
[3]http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2009/hhsuninserpr.htm
[4]http://truecostblog.com/2009/08/09/countries-with-universal-healthcare-by-date/
[5]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RB4pRZNeh8E/RrdpyqYtSYI/AAAAAAAAAyY/mk1oi65mpuo/s1600-h/Universal+Healthcare+World+Map.jpg
[6]http://www.pnhp.org/new_bankruptcy_study/Bankruptcy-2009.pdf
[7]http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/08/news/economy/health_care_lobbying/index.htm
