Thursday, August 27, 2009

47 Million uninsured, fact or fiction? You decide!!

What has many Americans fired up - Healthcare Reform. It has been the central theme of many Americans all across the country over the past few weeks. The President and Congress are trying to pass a new bill labeled H.R. 3200. Obama states “This is not just about the 47 million Americans who have no health insurance. Reform is about every American who has ever feared that they may lose their coverage if they become too sick, or lose their job, or change their job.” (1) Remember I ask you to check your affiliation at the door as we explore this and every topic. After hearing Obama utter this number, one question came to mind. Who are these 47 million Americans without health insurance? Although I’d like to believe that everything someone says is true, our own human nature makes this impossible. Thomas Jefferson once said “Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear." I have taken this to heart and believe we should always question what someone says, especially if that someone is an elected official. Whether you approve or disapprove of that person always investigate the issue further! Do not just consider it fact, rather research and find out for yourself. I ask you to do the same after you read this blog; don’t take my word for it! Think; do not let others think for you! Before I ramble any further, back to my original question; who are these 47 million Americans without health care?

The Census Bureau released back in 2008 that the number of uninsured in America is 45.65 million people.(2) This is the most up to date and accurate count of the uninsured. Now you might say 45 or 47 million who cares Obama is just estimating. Let’s examine further shall we: Obama claims there are 47 uninsured AMERICANS. There is a reason why that word is in bold print. That is a flat out lie! Why? Good question it seems you guys are paying attention. Of the 45.65 million people who are uninsured 9.75 million is not even American; they are foreigners. That brings the total of AMERICAN uninsured down to around 35.92 million or 37 million if you want to overestimate like Obama. I know a lot of you are saying; Still 35.92 million is pretty high, what about them should they not get care? Another great question, good job America!

Yes, 35.92 million is still pretty high but let’s examine that number further. According to the Census Bureau “there are 9.1 million people making more than $75,000 per year who did not choose to purchase health insurance.” 9.1 million People making $75,000 a year chose not to purchase health insurance, not because they could not afford it but, because they did not want it. That does not include the 8.4 million people who make around $50,000-$74,999 dollars a year who also did not purchase health care but are able to afford it. In total that is (don’t take my word for it whip out a calculator and add the two numbers yourself) 17.5 million Americans who don’t have health insurance but find it affordable. Subtract that from our total before of 35.92 million (calculator ready?) and you get 18.4 million Americans who are uninsured.

Of the remaining 18.4 million uninsured around 10 to 11 million qualify for Medicare/Medicaid but have decided not to apply for it. That brings the actual number of uninsured Americans down to around 8-9 million people. To put that in perspective I’m going to use that number of 8 or 9 million and divide it by the total number of citizens to date; (follow the link in foot note and it will show you where I got the total number of citizens) do keep in mind the total number of people in the US may have changed since writing this blog. (3) That means that the total percentage of uninsured Americans in this country is around 2.6-3.0%.

So what are you trying to say man, why the tough math calculations? The reason I point this out is because that means 97 percent of Americans can afford healthcare. I find that figure outstanding. Look there is no perfect system. No system out there will ever be perfect. Many within our own government and especially in Congress have claimed that others like Canada and England have better health care than we do. Really? If it is so damn great why don’t you go and live there than! Go and experience the wait to have a hip replacement or knee surgery. Don’t take my words for it read what chief of staff Dr. David Zelt of Kingston General Hospital in Ontario said, “In our health care system, we're looking at what we have to do to prioritize patients -- critically ill versus purely elective surgeries, I'm not going to say we don't have issues with timeliness for some things. It does happen. But again take the other side of the coin -- these patients have access. They're on somebody's waiting list if they have a problem, and I think the senator would need to look at that issue. Yes it may take time, but they will get seen.”(4)

It will take time? Are you kidding me? I don’t care if its life or death or I need knee surgery, why should I have to wait? This is the type of health care that the Obama administration and Congress want to stuff down our throats! Last I checked if I needed a surgery done it was done ASAP with minimal wait time. Why should we as Americans approve of another massive spending bill (around 1.6 trillion) when we are in the middle of a recession? Why is it that all of us have cut back on our spending in these times but the government has increased spending? The deficit in Obama’s first year has ballooned to amass a greater total then all eight years of Bush. Again, don’t take my word for it look it up.

Another myth or misconception being force fed to us by many of our fellow Congressmen and the Obama administration is that not everyone who is sick can receive medical attention. That is a flat out lie. Anyone within 250 yards of an emergency room who is in need of attention receives treatment because they cannot leave you unattended. Even if it weren’t an emergency there are free clinics available and charity organizations that help to cover costs for those who can’t afford expensive treatments. Not everyone is covered but again there is no perfect system. Last time I checked 97 percent is an above average grade (A+ to be exact).

My solution to tackle health care reform is simple. The main problem with Health Insurance right now is the costs are rising. We need to develop competition in the market in order to drive costs down. However, I do not believe we need the government to get involved. The private sector can handle this challenge. All we need is for the government to take this into account…Obama if you’re reading this pay attention!

* Remove the law against buying insurance across state lines.

This is an important step and the one which will spark the most competition amongst private insurance companies. For those who are unaware, if you live in a certain state (Florida, Alabama, etc...) you are required to purchase insurance within that state. You are not allowed to cross state lines and purchase a plan from another company in another state. Why is this a problem you ask? Well, some states may provide a more affordable insurance plan then the ones available in your state. By allowing someone in Florida to purchase Health Insurance from a private insurer in Alabama, or wherever, it allows the customer to receive a more affordable rate while increasing competition.

Its economics 101 if you create more supply for a demand the cost of said product will reduce. There will be increased supply or options because the person is no longer required to purchase insurance within the state they reside. The increase in options creates competition because now those same insurance companies in each state will have to compete against every other insurance company in the country. Again, we are applying capitalism to fix the problem not big government.

This of course will not repair all that is wrong with Healthcare but is a building block towards true reform on Healthcare. If we can fix it without nationalizing we will have succeeded. I ask you America to get informed and read the issues. Listen to what both sides have to say and then correlate their statements with facts and always remember “question with boldness!”


1.) http://www.cnsnews.com/Public/Content/article.aspx?RsrcID=51443 paragraph 4

2.) http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/hlthin07.html Here’s the link for the Census Bureau report I encourage you to take a look at it.

3.) http://usdebtclock.org/index.html interesting site take a look at the other numbers while your there.

4.) http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/06/canadian.health.care.system/ please read the whole article its very good.

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