This is National Cover the Uninsured Week.
A study recently published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation showed that the cost of health insurance in California has increased by 33 percent since 2001.
Each year, the number of uninsured grows. Some 35.7 percent of those earning less than $10,000 are without health insurance. With the increase in the cost, it is unlikely they will ever be able to afford it. The majority of health insurance today is paid for by employers. As the cost of providing health insurance rises, we can expect fewer employers will offer this benefit to their employees.
We are told that we have the best healthcare system in the world. The United States spends far more on health insurance than any other country in the world. Most Americans aren't aware that the United States is the only country in the western world that does not have basic health coverage for all citizens. How are all the other western countries able to provide healthcare for every citizen while spending less money?
Every time anyone talks about healthcare reform, we are bombarded with horror stories about poor healthcare and long waits for care in Canada paid for by the insurance companies, drug companies and other parties that make a great deal of money in our dysfunctional healthcare system.
The healthcare system in the United States is broken. The cost of health insurance is increasing faster than salaries. Each year more and more people are uninsured. We as Americans must demand healthcare reform.
-- Linda Loiselle, R.N., Camarillo