Getting Sick, Dying Quickly
from ThinkProgress
"It's my duty and pride tonight to be able to announce exactly what the Republicans plan to do for health care in America," announced Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) on the House floor Wednesday night. Taking out a chart, he continued, "Here it is. The Republican health care plan for America: 'don't get sick.' If you have insurance don't get sick, if you don't have insurance, don't get sick; if you're sick, don't get sick. ... If you do get sick America, the Republican health care plan is this: 'die quickly.'" The speech generated instant controversy as offended Republicans accused him of degrading "the integrity and proceedings of the House" (even though GOP lawmakers have been making absurdly false claims on the floor about Democratic plans for months). While Grayson later admitted that his hyperbole was "tongue-in-cheek," he stood by his statement and refused to apologize...to the GOP. "I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven't voted sooner," Grayson said, referring to the thousands of Americans who have died because they lacked health insurance. Grayson's comments highlighted a sad truth: Too many Americans get sick and face crippling medical debt as a result of either having no health insurance or having to pay high premiums charged by private insurers. Unfortunately, the Republican solution is to keep the status quo or make the situation even worse.
THE STATUS QUO: Many Americans do indeed die simply because they can't afford medical care. According to a recent Harvard Medical School study, nearly 45,000 Americans die each year -- one person every 12 minutes -- because they are not covered by health insurance. "We doctors have many new ways to prevent deaths from hypertension, diabetes and heart disease -- but only if patients can get into our offices and afford their medications," said the study's lead author Dr. Andrew Wilper. Although having private insurance should make this better, high deductibles and other expenses can still result in unaffordable bills. In fact, 78 percent of people who filed for bankruptcy because of medical costs had health insurance, underscoring the importance of not just extending coverage to the uninsured, but also shoring up inadequate coverage. In addition, many people who went into medical bankruptcy had private coverage, "but lost it when they became too sick to work," concluded a Harvard University study. "Nationally, a quarter of firms cancel coverage immediately when an employee suffers a disabling illness; another quarter do so within a year." The "proportion of all bankruptcies attributable to medical problems has increased by 50%" since 2001, and will continue to rise without significant reforms to the health care system.
(Original here, with multiple hotlinks.)
"It's my duty and pride tonight to be able to announce exactly what the Republicans plan to do for health care in America," announced Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) on the House floor Wednesday night. Taking out a chart, he continued, "Here it is. The Republican health care plan for America: 'don't get sick.' If you have insurance don't get sick, if you don't have insurance, don't get sick; if you're sick, don't get sick. ... If you do get sick America, the Republican health care plan is this: 'die quickly.'" The speech generated instant controversy as offended Republicans accused him of degrading "the integrity and proceedings of the House" (even though GOP lawmakers have been making absurdly false claims on the floor about Democratic plans for months). While Grayson later admitted that his hyperbole was "tongue-in-cheek," he stood by his statement and refused to apologize...to the GOP. "I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven't voted sooner," Grayson said, referring to the thousands of Americans who have died because they lacked health insurance. Grayson's comments highlighted a sad truth: Too many Americans get sick and face crippling medical debt as a result of either having no health insurance or having to pay high premiums charged by private insurers. Unfortunately, the Republican solution is to keep the status quo or make the situation even worse.
THE STATUS QUO: Many Americans do indeed die simply because they can't afford medical care. According to a recent Harvard Medical School study, nearly 45,000 Americans die each year -- one person every 12 minutes -- because they are not covered by health insurance. "We doctors have many new ways to prevent deaths from hypertension, diabetes and heart disease -- but only if patients can get into our offices and afford their medications," said the study's lead author Dr. Andrew Wilper. Although having private insurance should make this better, high deductibles and other expenses can still result in unaffordable bills. In fact, 78 percent of people who filed for bankruptcy because of medical costs had health insurance, underscoring the importance of not just extending coverage to the uninsured, but also shoring up inadequate coverage. In addition, many people who went into medical bankruptcy had private coverage, "but lost it when they became too sick to work," concluded a Harvard University study. "Nationally, a quarter of firms cancel coverage immediately when an employee suffers a disabling illness; another quarter do so within a year." The "proportion of all bankruptcies attributable to medical problems has increased by 50%" since 2001, and will continue to rise without significant reforms to the health care system.
(Original here, with multiple hotlinks.)
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