NEWS - FEBRUARY 2009
Health Care & Employment
Even in good times, many Americans are unable to afford basic health care services. Some workers and their families are uninsured and do not receive preventive and routine screenings that are available to employees who have health care benefits. Others live in rural areas that offer good general care services but provide limited access to cardiologists, oncologists, and other specialists. The current recession is creating even greater funding demands on the U.S. health care system.
Reduced Access To Health Care
Caring For Chronically Ill Children In Washington State
As reported in an opinion piece published by the Seattle Post Intelligencer last week, the economic downturn is adversely affecting health care for children in Washington. Forecasts for a slow recovery suggest there will be more job losses and reduced medical coverage for former employees. According to Washington State Department of Health statistics, an estimated 260,000 children under age 17 have conditions that require hospital-based care and technologies for effective treatment. There is a large financial cost and demand for Washington's health care system to deliver the services needed. For the 15% of children with chronic conditions, medical costs are approximately six times higher, accounting for more than 50% of health care resources for all children. Job losses will shift financial responsibility for medical services from employers to families, hospitals, and the state. At Seattle Children's Hospital, the cost of uncompensated and undercompensated care for children and adolescents with long-term chronic conditions reached $65 million in 2007 and grew to more than $86 million in 2008. Other statistics indicate that most hospitals in Washington operate at or above capacity.
Families rely on Medicaid as a safety net to avoid the rapid descent into poverty that the cost of medical care would otherwise cause. Increased government funding to cover health care services this year is critical. The anticipated recession-related demand for increased 2009 state and federal funding emphasizes the need for U.S. health care system reform to occur sooner rather than later.
To read the original article, visit: Seattle Post Intelligencer
Following Your Doctor From One Health System To Another
When physicians take steps to get a better job or improve the environment they work in, those decisions may inadvertently affect patients' access to their favorite doctors. As reported in Milwaukee- Wisconsin Journal Sentinel at JSOnline earlier this month, some health care systems implement a policy to not disclose the locations their physicians transfer to. Additionally, medical records are the health system's property, and patients must pay to obtain copies. The cost can be substantial for patients who have received decades' worth of care at a single facility.
Providing health care is a business, despite commonly held perceptions otherwise. Services generate revenues, whether paid directly by patients or third party sources. Transparency regarding personnel changes is apparently not a priority for some health care systems. Employment contracts typically require physicians to leave their patient base behind if they relocate and may even limit what can be disclosed to patients about the move. The argument for such restrictions is that substantial amounts of time and money are invested by facilities to "buy" a practice or help a physician grow clientele, and such efforts should benefit the health care system on a long-term basis. For patients, continuity of care can be compromised, but there is no easy way for physicians to resolve the ethical dilemma.
To read the original article, visit: JSOnline.
In the United States, the impact of unemployment on health care coverage for low and middle income earners is staggering. According to an article published by Greenville News summarizing a report from Families USA, many U.S. workers lose their health insurance along with their jobs. Many do not qualify for assistance through public health programs, and continuing their existing health coverage through COBRA is often cost-prohibitive. Based on national averages, monthly COBRA premium amounts can account for 84% of a laid-off worker's unemployment benefit. In South Carolina, more than 50% of unemployed individuals do not have health insurance.
People who don't have health insurance typically turn to hospital emergency rooms to receive medical attention. The cost shifts from employers and insurers to hospitals, where the financial burden is distributed among the patients who can pay for services rendered. One commonly cited solution is to create an insurance pool such as the federal employee system that spreads the expense and "risks" within a large population. The depth of the current recession and its adverse effect on U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace are building a consensus in support of health care reform.
To read the original article, visit: The Greenville News (Greenville SC)
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