Conference Of Churches Universal Health Care Presentation 1

Slide 2: Universal Health Care A ccess A Right Not a Privilege

Slide 3: The Problem

Slide 4: Connecticut’s Health Care S ystem: A Need For B old Change

Slide 5: The Health Care Crisis  The rate of growth is not sustainable  Families can’t afford increasing costs  S mall businesses can’t afford the premiums and the unpredictable cost increases

Slide 6:  Health-related bankruptcies are skyrocketing  Doctors and hospitals can’t absorb any more uncompensated care  The uninsured and underinsured are getting too little care too late at too high a price

Slide 7: Premium costs are out of reach for many  From 2000 to 2004, CT workers’ health premiums grew by 56% while wages grew by only 14%  CT is the 6th most expensive state in the US for family health insurance premiums and 12th most expensive for individual coverage Source: AHRQ, Health Affairs, Lewin Group, OHCA

Slide 8: Who isn’t covered?

Slide 9: One in nine CT residents is uninsured  365,000 CT residents are uninsured – more than the combined populations of New Haven PLUS Hartford PL US Waterbury PLUS Middletown  The number is rising – 50,000 more residents were uninsured in 2004 than in 2003 - more than the population of nine out of ten CT municipalities – and things are likely to get worse rather than better Sources: US Census, CT DOL, Families USA

Slide 10: CT’s Uninsured:  M ost are working people  M ost want coverage but can’t afford it  M any work for small businesses  M any are young, age 19 to 29, often too old to remain on parents’ plan or HUS KY  M any are near-elderly, age 55 to 64, hoping to stay well until they become eligible for M edicare Source: OHCA

Slide 11: Why are people uninsured?  Most can’t afford insurance  Employers don’t provide it  High cost of individual or family premiums,  Many can’t afford their share of the costs for their employer-sponsored plan  Many have a pre-existing condition making health care coverage hard to obtain Source: Kaiser Commission

Slide 12: Even if you’re covered, you can be under-insured  If you are insured, you still have co-pays, deductibles, and co-insurance. S ometimes the services you need are not covered  Half of all bankruptcies are due to high medical bills – and most of those are among people who HA V E health insurance

Slide 13: A ny of us can lose our insurance  M any people are just a pink slip away from being uninsured  People lose insurance when they  L ose a job  Graduate from school,  Get married or divorced  S uffer a major illness or accident Source: OHCA, IOM

Slide 14: High administrative costs add to health care spending  Government programs spend less on administration than private programs Administative costs 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Medicare Medicaid HUSKY CT private CT small CT individual large group groups policies Sources: CMS, DOI, DSS

Slide 15: Our health care spending is not sustainable for our economy  In 1980, national health expenditures were 8.8% of Gross Domestic Product. B y 2014 they are predicted to be 18.7% US health care total spending projections $4,000 $3,500 $3,000 $2,500 $2,000 $1,500 $1,000 $500 $0 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 Sources: Mapping Health and Insurance Coverage in CT, CMS

Slide 16: The U.S . spends more on health care than any other country Total health spending, per capita, 2002 Health care consumes 16 cents of every dollar in the $6,000 US economy $4,000 $2,000 $0 y a nd n ce n lia S K an ad ia pa U U an la ra ed m an Ja Ir e st Fr er m C Au G D EC O Source: Health Affairs

Slide 17: Our health outcomes are worse than countries that spend much less Life Expectancy at Birth, 2003 85 80 years Females 75 Males 70 US UK ce n d a da y n pa an lan ali an ia na Ja str m ed Ire Fr Ca r Au m Ge C D OE Source: World Health Organization

Slide 18: Taxpayers already pay for a large share of CT’s health care Sources of CT health Care Spending, CT 2005 All ot her, 7% Pr ivat e Out of pocket , 20% Medicar e Medicaid Privat e, 40% Uncompensat ed care Out of pocket All ot her Uncompensat ed care, 0.40% Medicaid, 10% Medicar e, 23% Source: Mapping Health Spending and Insurance Coverage in CT

Slide 19: Medical debt can destroy lives…  Out of pocket costs are up 62% since 1993  Four out of ten adults under age 65 have problems related to medical bills or debt  Half of A merican bankruptcies are triggered by medical bills Sources: Kaiser Family Fndn, Health Affairs, Access Project

Slide 20: Medical debt kills…  A dults with medical debt are three times more likely to skip a recommended test or treatment and twice as likely not to fill a prescription due to cost  People with medical debt are just as likely to have employer coverage, but they have fewer benefits Sources: Kaiser Family Fndn, Health Affairs, Access Project

Slide 21: What does the L ORD require of you but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God? Micah 6: 8

Slide 22: Where Do We S tart?

Slide 23: Why not cover everyone?  A ddress this moral issue by providing all residents access to quality care  Encourages the use of preventative care and early diagnostic services that enhance lives and save money  Free up emergency rooms for real emergencies

Slide 24: Health Care for Everyone  S tabilize the system that is now increasingly unpredictable  Reduce health care costs by increasing the buying power of consumers and by reducing illness

Slide 25: We can afford to cover everyone  Economists estimate that covering everyone would S A V E the United S tates between $320.5 billion and $1.1 trillion over a decade  Companies that operate in Canada, with universal health care, save an estimated $4 per hour per worker on health insurance costs compared to the US  The Institute of M edicine estimates that the US economy loses $65 to $130 billion each year in productivity due to workers’ lack of coverage Sources: Nat. Coalition on Health Care, Washington Post, IOM

Slide 26: Other states are doing it  M assachusetts  M aine  Illinois Sources: States of ME, IL, MA

Slide 27: Health Care Reform means…  S ecure access to health insurance for those who lack it  Improvement in cost-effectiveness and quality health care  Health care that is affordable for everyone!

Slide 28: Why is Universal Healthcare important?  We all pay for inefficiency and those uninsured now.  Thousands of residents are just a paycheck away from being uninsured.

Slide 29: The Institute of Medicine defines Universal Health Care as a system that:  Includes everyone;  Is continuous and portable from job to job, employment to unemployment;  Is affordable to individuals, especially those with limited income;  Is affordable and sustainable to society;  and Enhances health and well-being.

Slide 30: Working together. Changing lives.  We each can make a difference.  S urveys show that policymakers trust their constituents -- people from the real world -- far more than lobbyists, advocates, even “ experts”  Go to the website www.healthcare4every1.org and sign up to be a part of the campaign for universal health care  Get the tools at the health advocacy toolbox www.cthealthpolicy.org/ toolbox

Slide 31: What Y ou Can Do?  S tay Informed;  Host a Community Forum on Universal Health Care to educate your congregation and region [sign up today!];  Encourage people of faith and goodwill to contact state legislators and inspire them to provide health care for everyone;  M eet with public officials yourself and urge them to work on health care reform;

Slide 32: “ Y ou must be the Change you wish to see in the World.” --Mahatma Gandhi

Slide 33: Together We Can Make a Difference!!!  Together we can make affordable, quality health care accessible to all residents.