Affordable Health Care

All Americans should have access to affordable health care, including prescription drugs, and these costs should not burden future generations.

Something has gone wrong in America when millions of people are just one medical emergency away from bankruptcy and financial ruin. How many of us are sure we can get quality health care when we need it for our children, our loved ones, and ourselves? Something needs to change.

Getting the health care we need shouldn't bankrupt us as individuals, businesses, or government. Businesses, individuals, and communities have a shared responsibility. Getting clear up-front explanations of cost, eliminating unnecessary paperwork, and more research on what works best is a start.

Cost is at the root of this problem. Health care is expensive and getting more so every day. The health care system is a maze of paperwork and confusing charges that make it impossible for an ordinary family to understand what they have to pay to get the care they need. The United States spends $2.1 trillion a year on care - some $7,026 for every man, woman and child in the country.¹ Health care expenditures are 16 percent of the U.S. economy¹, well above what any other industrialized nation spends on health care. And these nations make health care available to all their citizens. Yet, when we compare health outcomes-measurements of health such as infant mortality or life expectancy-the U.S. trails these nations

Skyrocketing health costs jeopardize financial and physical well being - and dreams

Trying to balance the cost of good health against checkbooks causes tremendous problems for millions of Americans.

• Since 1986, small businesses have cited healthcare costs as their No. 1 concern.²
• One in three American families have had problems paying medical bills in the past year, up from about a quarter saying the same two years ago.³
• Every week, thousands of Americans file for bankruptcy related to medical costs. 42 percent of adults report having problems accessing health care due to cost.⁴
• 46 million Americans are uninsured. Middle class and upper income families are the fastest growing segment.⁵
• The average cost of health insurance for an American family is nearly $13,000.⁶ Many Americans may be tied to jobs they dislike or stopped from opening their own businesses because of the excessive cost of health care coverage or preexisting medical conditions that deter them from changing insurance providers.

Health care costs put American industry at a disadvantage

Companies that do the right thing by providing health coverage for their employees face enormous costs. Take General Motors, for example. Health care costs add more than $1,000 to the cost of every vehicle sold. It's cheaper for them to make cars in Canada rather than at home because of these expenses. In fact, more than half of the CEOs of America's largest companies cite rising health care costs as the most significant cost pressure facing their companies. These costs are sapping our nation's competitive strength.

As a result of these high costs, some employers have stopped offering health insurance or require employees to pay more for their health insurance. These rising costs make coverage unaffordable for many people and leave even more with the feeling that they are on the verge of losing their insurance and their peace of mind.

Affordable prescription drugs

Prescription drugs save lives, reduce pain and suffering, and prevent diseases and illnesses from worsening. Yet too many people cannot afford the medications they need, with prescription medicines accounting for the largest share of out-of-pocket medical expenses.

The Medicare prescription drug benefit is a good step toward making drugs affordable, at least for those 65 and older. But it can certainly be made better. And with 46 million uninsured Americans, and many millions more with inadequate prescription drug coverage, more needs to be done.

Imagine an America with affordable, quality health care. Let's work to guide our nation's policymakers to commit to and achieve changes that will restore America's peace of mind.

Share Your Experience

Do you have an experience to share with our nation's leaders to show them why they must work to improve health care? We want to hear from you.

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Citations

¹ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. National Health Expenditure Projections 2007-2017 (pdf).

² NFIB National Survey (February 15-19, 2008) cited here.

³ Kaiser Health Tracking Poll-Election 2008, October 2008.

⁴ Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Public Opinion, Survey Brief, April 2008(pdf).

⁵ AARP PPI analysis of U.S. Census Bureau uninsured data by household income (1997 and 2007). Using the March 1998 and 2008 Current Population Survey, the percent change was calculated for the number of persons without health insurance coverage by household income.

⁶ HRET/Kaiser Family Foundation.