More Silly Numbers
Families USA has a new report, claiming that “64.8 million non-elderly Americans have been diagnosed with pre-existing conditions that could lead to denials of coverage, absent health reform.” At least that’s only half of the Obama administration’s whopper. An HHS report last year put the number at 129 million individuals.
Yet for several years now there has been a remedy that does not require 159 new agencies or $1.8 trillion in new spending. People who have been denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition are able to buy insurance for the same premium healthy people pay from new federal risk pools. Yet according to the most recent data only 73,333 individuals have enrolled.
Congress should try propagating old laws before passing stuff like ACA. More legislation is not better legislation.
Thanks for the info John.
The difficulty in even tracking down the correct figures for healthcare through JCT, CBO, Census, HHS, or any federal channels really, is outrageous. Wasn’t the 2008 platform based on transparency?
To be fair, the HHS figure was “50 to 129 million”, not the flat 129 million as quoted above. So 64.8 million is within the range.
For starters, how do you go from having 129 million individuals with pre-existing conditions one year, to more than half that amount the next year? Big red flag as of how reliable these studies are.
No one should ever be discriminated against because of health status…ever. Isn’t that what health care is there for in the first place? To take care of the ill?
I agree with Alex, if the remedy existed in the old laws, that is what we should be using and that is what Congress should be focusing on.
John,
120 million individuals is 1/3 the population. What would be the buying power of that group if they could pool into some form of self insurance? Of course that would mean the state barriers to insurance across state lines would have to be dissolved.
We’re supposed to be serious about reports that say that the number of uninsurable people ranges from 21 percent of the nonelderly population to 55 percent of the nonelderly population? When results from the CPS say that the uninsured rate for the non-elderly in 2010 was 18.4 percent and that up to 1/3 of those people are eligible for Medicaid but haven’t signed up?
According to 2010 Census data, the US population was 309 million (rounding up). Roughly 40 million people were 65 or older. This leaves 235 million non-elderly, of which 74 million are kids 17 or under.
And as Greg Scandlen and others have pointed out over and over again, no one has been “uninsurable” since federal law required the states to provide insurance for the uninsurable.
Dr. Steve:
You bring up a great point. At its core, insurance is simply the pooling of individual resources.
The insurers would not exist, except for their policyholders.
Strange, isn’t it though, with that type of dependence, health insurers are content with turning over their policyholders every 3- 5 years.
Sounds a bit expensive doesn’t it, to recoup your lifeline every 3-5 years?
Don Levit
More fuzzy math from the Department of Heath and Human Services.
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At this point the hope in the good reverend’s meagsse is a luxury for the Haves and those who-wanna-be-Haves. For those like me at the bottom, we’re trying to figure out what utilities we’ll be able to cut as we realize the mandates and the insurance profit enhancement factors in this reform we just got saddled with means a direct cash loss every pay period, every month. It has to come from somewhere. We’ve already cut clothing, OTC meds (only enough to buy the required RX), treats and niceties like the monthly candy bar, gone. Most likely we’ll go back to the strategies we used when we were younger, only running one light or appliance at a time, nothing on during the day, showering once a week, walking rather than driving, cutting computer use by 70% (although internet access is a fixed cost and required for both our job-loads), and not using the furnace unless the temp drops below 40F. We already got a letter from Aetna announcing the enhanced insurance packet most of our needs will not be covered, we already cut my mental health costs by not taking care of me, my son was next, my daughter, well, she’s no longer covered any longer. Math is hard enough for me. I’ve been having to do a lot of it lately. I never thought I’d be teaching my kids how to mooch off wealthier friends. But I just did that this morning, aware of just how much less income we’re about to have under the congressional debacle and our insurer’s quick action to cut coverage and increase premiums and copays.Pretty tough to envision anything but a dystopia when the harder we work the less we have and now, after a decade of steadily losing everything, home, vehicles, clothing, and now, many more basics because we’re required to pay for Aetna’s executive-level opulence, thanks to Congress and the owning-class who have all the power. Fantastic. Just fantastic.I’m out of the fight. There’s nothing more I can do. I cannot afford to do anything but become a hyper-conserver and hyper-vigilant against spending any money beyond my mandated premiums. I’m just overwhelmed with joy and gratitude right now.