Rising costs leave more Marylanders, Americans without health insurance
As members of Congress duke it out in the health care reform debate, a national consumer advocacy group releases this sobering statistic: an average of 740 Marylanders lose their health insurance every week, according to a new study by Families USA.
By the group's estimates, 114,780 people will lose health coverage in Maryland from 2008 through December 2010. Nationwide, that figure could climb to 6.9 million, according to the organization, which if you haven't noticed, is lobbying bigtime for Congress to hurry and pass a bill that will expand coverage to those without. In fact, just an hour ago, a Senate committee made a first step to do just that.
Rising premiums -- up 119 percent from 1999 to 2008 -- are causing more families to go without coverage, both in Maryland and nationwide, according to the report "The Clock is Ticking: More Americans Losing Health Insurance.
photo courtesy of Brooks Elliot @ flickr
Comments
I wonder what priority is health insurance to a low income family living from check to check, trying to keep a roof over their head and food on the table. What would they call "affordable" health insurance? How low do premiums need to be and will it really make a difference? The best health care and health insurance, most of the time, go hand and hand, unfortunately.
Posted by: Carolyn Edwards | July 16, 2009 12:17 AM