Health Care for All
The problem of families without health insurance has been widely discussed, but in recent years many people who thought they had adequate coverage are finding that their insurance policies do not cover all the services they expect to obtain, and they must struggle to to pay for them out of pocket. Some seniors are in health plans that have decided to drop them. Large H.M.O.'s have quit Medicare and patients have been cut adrift to seek either an alternative H.M.O. plan for Medicare or a return to the regular fee-for-service Medicare program. Individuals have been losing their hospital connections too. Hospital-affiliated clinics have been cut because they were losing money. Some of the doctors continue to see patients, some don?t (MORE).
For current state budget proposals on access to medical care see FCL's February 2001 Newsletter.
The United States the only industrialized nation in the world that does not guarantee health care to all of its citizens. Current attempts at health care reform in this country only seem to have worsened the problem. While most people agree that it is a basic human right to have health care, many disagree on how to provide such in America today.
- AMSA (American Medical Student Association) believes that health care is a basic human right. After reviewing many other universal coverage proposals, AMSA adopted a single payer system as their choice (MORE).
- We believe that the current malaise afflicting health policy debate will be short lived; that bold and articulate advocacy for national health insurance can coalesce the broad constituency for change (MORE)
- The Medicare program, which has improved the lives of millions of elderly and disabled Americans, faces perilous times. Leaders in both major political parties propose to radically change Medicare from a publicly administered program to a voucher system. In a voucher system, the government partially subsidizes the elderly and disabled to purchase health insurance plans in a competitive market (MORE)
- Just three years after Medicare was passed, a 1968 Tax Foundation study found that public spending on medical care had nearly doubled in the first few years of Medicare. Consequently, Medicare payroll taxes and general taxes have been raised over the years to pay for skyrocketing health care costs. Without adding an outpatient prescription drug benefit, Medicare now represents 12 percent of federal spending and it is the largest payer of health care in the world, spending $212 billion in 1999. Without proper knowledge of how Medicare has affected seniors? out-of-pocket costs over the years, many seniors might support a new prescription drug benefit believing it would actually reduce their overall costs. However, history provides some strong indications that the opposite is likely to occur. Before opting for a new drug program, the elderly in particular would benefit from investigating several important myths and facts regarding Medicare (MORE).
The Healthy Families Program is a state and federal funded health coverage program for children with family incomes above the level eligible for no cost Medi-Cal and below 250% of the federal income guidelines ($35,376 for a family of three) (MORE).
Medi-Cal is the name of California's Medicaid program. Medicaid is a federally and state-funded health insurance program for people who are low-income and who are also elderly, disabled or enrolled in AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children). While Medicaid is a federal program, it's the state bureaucracies that actually run the program in each state (MORE) (Medi-Cal home-page).
The Institute offers a range of resources on the basics of the Medi-Cal program and on the program's surrounding environment, such as the economic climate. These resources are intended to clarify aspects of the Medi-Cal program and to educate policymakers, providers and anyone who is interested in learning about the program. (MORE).
No Health Insurance? It's Enough to Make You Sick - Scientific Research Linking the Lack of Health Coverage to Poor Health(MORE).
designed to inform and promote policy development that increases access to comprehensive, affordable, high-quality health insurance that promotes the health of all Californians (MORE)
Canada has a predominantly publicly financed, privately delivered health care system that is best described as an interlocking set of ten provincial and three territorial health insurance plans. Known to Canadians as "Medicare", the system provides access to universal, comprehensive coverage for medically necessary hospital, in-patient and out-patient physician services (MORE)
Concerns over delays in the Canadian system may be misleading according to Queuing for Surgery: Is the U.S. or Canada Worse Off? a RAND Health Publication prepared in 2000.
Some providers have enjoyed a measure of success. One's physicians provided more preventive care in 1998 than other California practitioners in five of seven categories tracked by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. A California employers' group named the IPA the top medical group in the state in recognition of its pursuit of high-quality, yet frugal care. (MORE)
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