New Study: Cost of Insurance Far Outpaces Income
The same week presidential candidate John McCain is under attack for his lacking health care proposal, a new analysis of government data shows that Americans who get health insurance for their families through their jobs have seen their premiums increase 10 times faster than their income in recent years.
The study, released as part of Cover the Uninsured Week (April 27–May 3) by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and distributed by New Hampshire for Health Care, shows that a growing share of workers’ earnings is being absorbed by the increasing cost of health insurance.
Key findings from New Hampshire show:
• The average cost of family coverage increased.
The average cost of family coverage increased over $1,300 – from $10,500 in 2002 to $11,835 in 2005. The percentage of family premiums that employees pay held steady at about 24 percent.
• Families are paying more for insurance premiums, with less income.
The amount that workers pay for family premiums, on average, increased $273, from $2,615 in 2001 to $2,888 in 2005. Meanwhile, the median income of people who hold family health insurance policies actually decreased $437 during the same period, from $44,740 in 2001 to $44,303 in 2005.
• Employers are paying more to provide health care coverage.
The average cost that employers pay for their share of family coverage increased from $7,886 to $8,947, or 13 percent, during the period.
• More people are uninsured.
According to the latest Census figures, 150,000 New Hampshire residents do not have any health insurance. Nationally, 47 million Americans are uninsured.
On Saturday, April 26th, New Hampshire for Health Care and a collaboration of local health care advocacy groups hosted a kick-off event for the sixth annual Cover the Uninsured Week.
Cover the Uninsured Week is the nation's largest mobilization on behalf of America's 47 million uninsured. The week has brought together business owners, union members, educators, students, patients, hospital staff, physicians, nurses, faith leaders and their congregants, and many others to speak out on behalf of the uninsured and demand that our national leaders make the issue of the uninsured their top priority.
Over 40 people who came to canvass heard from speakers like Dr. Travis Harker, a family doctor for the Concord Family Health Center at Concord Hospital. Dr. Harker shared his experience as a doctor working to care for people and help prevent them from "falling in the cracks of our broken healthcare system."
"Even people with insurance have to fight with their insurance companies to get medications they need, and I spend hours a week working on prior authorizations for medications. That time could be better spent caring for people. After all - I went to medical school because I wanted to serve people, not fight with bean counters on the phone."
Dr. Harker led the crowd in a health care chant before they went door-to-door in Manchester to talk about the health care crisis. By the end of the day, over a hundred more people had joined the movement for health care reform!
Read statements from the press conference
New Hampshire for Health Care's April Newsletter is here!
Included in this edition: Health Care Voters Call on Senator McCain to Fill in the Gaps, State House Health Care Legislation, Purple Points online, Health Care in the News, Health Care Story: Kathleen Shine Cain, The Road to American Health Care, Campaign Internships, and Cover the Uninsured Week. Read it now!
Health Care Voter Story: Kathleen Cain, Windham
Health Care Voter Story: Kathleen Cain, Windham
"My brother suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis, the treatment of which involves a variety of prescription medications, frequent physician visits, and occasional invasive procedures—all of which are exceedingly expensive. Jim works in a restaurant that requires service personnel to average a minimum number of hours per week in order to qualify for health care benefits. If an employee fails to maintain the required number of hours in a given quarter, benefits are suspended until the next open enrollment period, which could be as much as a year away. Even those who maintain benefits pay high premiums and co-pays. Since the cost of health care is skyrocketing, it is in the best interest of the restaurant chain to attempt to keep the number of eligible employees at a minimum. At the same time, illness that prevents an employee from maintaining the minimum number of hours already jeopardizes coverage. Thus, employees who rely on coverage from the chain are constantly struggling to keep their medical coverage, while the employer is constantly attempting to eliminate employees from eligibility." Read more
The Road to American Health Care
Americans for Health Care – the national outreach project that New Hampshire for Health Care is a part of – is launching a national Health Care Voter tour similar to the very successful NH tour we hosted in December.
The Road to American Health Care Tour will increase urgency and momentum for health care reform by building an ever louder drumbeat for health care. Through nationally coordinated days of action, it will involve Health Care Voters, allies and partners across the country to build a broad movement for change and amplify our message for comprehensive health care reform. New Hampshire for Health Care will be participating in these thematic national days of action. More info coming!
Interested in helping organize and coordinate a national day of action? Have creative ideas for keeping health care reform front and center? Contact Field Director Emmanuel Falck, Emmanuel@nhforhealthcare.org to join the planning committee.
Sen. McCain has the delegates - now Health Care Voters call on him to fill in the gaps
Recently, Republican Presidential nominee Senator John McCain returned to New Hampshire for a “Thank You” rally in Exeter. New Hampshire for Health Care attended the event to recognize Sen. McCain for securing the Republican nomination, while at the same time continuing to pressure him to fill in the gaps in his health care proposal.
Senator McCain’s health care proposal has many gaps – gaps in ensuring access to quality, affordable health care coverage for every American, gaps in addressing disparities in insurance coverage, gaps in controlling spiraling health care costs, gaps in choices of doctors and health care plans.
In his nomination acceptance speech on March 4th, Sen. McCain said: “I will campaign to make health care more accessible to more Americans with reforms that will bring down costs in the health care industry without ruining the quality of the world’s best medical care.”
But we need a president who will ensure every American has access to quality, affordable health care.
One of the glaring omissions in Sen. McCain’s health care proposal is a commitment to stop insurance companies from discriminating against individuals who have a pre-existing condition, like cancer survivors. Instead of preventing the insurance companies from picking and choosing only the healthiest people to provide coverage for, Sen. McCain has instead pushed for tax incentives. We need our next president to stand up to the insurance companies – not give them tax giveaways for doing the right thing.
Senator McCain needs to fill in the gaps in his health care proposal immediately.
Sen. McCain needs to stand with working families – who make up 80% of the uninsured - and ensure that every American has access to quality, affordable health care. Thank you to those who joined us and asked Sen. McCain to fill in the gaps on his health care proposal.
See news coverage of New Hampshire for Health Care’s participation
Photos by Roger H. Goun.