Healthcare – is the bipartisan sheen gone?

THURSDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) — In 2007, medical problems and expenses contributed to nearly two-thirds of all bankruptcies in the United States, a jump of nearly 50 percent from 2001, new research has found.
They randomly surveyed 2,314 bankruptcy filers in early 2007 and found that 77.9 percent of those bankrupted by medical problems had health insurance at the start of the bankrupting illness, including 60 percent who had private coverage.
Most of those bankrupted by medical problems were “solidly middle class” before they suffered financial disaster — two-thirds were homeowners and three-fifths had gone to college. In many cases, these people were hit at the same time by high medical bills and loss of income as illness forced breadwinners to take time off work. It was common for illness to lead to job loss and the disappearance of work-based health insurance.
The study also found that well-insured families often had to cope with high out-of-pocket medical costs for co-payments, deductibles and uncovered services. Medical bills for medically bankrupt families with private insurance averaged $17,749, compared to $26,971 for the uninsured and $22,568 for those who initially had private coverage but lost it during their illness.
The highest average costs were incurred by people with diabetes ($26,971) and neurological disorders ($34,167), the researchers found.
Hospital bills were the largest single expense for about half of all medically bankrupt families, while prescription drugs were the largest expense for 18.6 percent, according to the study in the August issue of the American Journal of Medicine, which was published online June 4.
“Our findings are frightening. Unless you’re Warren Buffett, your family is just one serious illness away from bankruptcy,” lead author Dr. David Himmelstein, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said in a news release from the Physicians for a National Health Program.
“For middle-class Americans, health insurance offers little protection. Most of us have policies with so many loopholes, co-payments and deductibles that illness can put you in the poorhouse. And even the best job-based health insurance often vanishes when a prolonged illness causes job loss — precisely when families need it most. Private health insurance is a defective product, akin to an umbrella that melts in the rain,” Himmelstein said.

In reply to John’s comment that “socialist medicine is more expensive, and substandard”:
Our current “wonderful” system is the most expensive system in the world by far, with at lest 40 million uninsured.
John, did you read on this same news posting that 60% of bankrupticies are caused by medical bills?
This doesn’t happen in those terrible “socialistic” countries that have a national health care program.
Mitch McConnel admits that a national plan would drive private insurers out of business. Why is that if not that a pubic plan would be so much cheaper?
Do you realize how much private companies suck off the top?
Jim Gilmore
Portland, OR

Once again republicans choose to sit back and let others govern, I guess being without any suggestions of their own and unable to do more than obstruct any and all attempts by the democrats to get things done, they’re happy to wait and hope for democratic failure to get them back into power so that they can continue their destruction of America.
You better pray for the dems to fail boys, because if they don’t you and your self serving, good for nothing party are as dead as the whigs and just as irrelevant.

Yeah, Frank, so have I, as well as S. Korea and Australia, and the healthcare in these places, on top of being available to everyone, is on par or better than that in America. And if you want to talk about bankrupt, where do think the unregulated capitalist democracy known as America is right now?

My brother had heart surgery in Australia and got excellent care and the cost was reasonable because the lawyers down there aren’t involved in medical care.
What would happen in this country if the ambulance chasers weren’t trolling after every doctor out there?
If you think medical is expensive now just wait until it’s free!!

The Democrats are playing a very dangerous game.
If their HC reform measure passes without AT LEAST the appearance of bipartisanship and it is either unpopular or unsuccessful the Republicans will hang it around their necks for a very long time.
The proposals I have read, in my opinion, are doomed to failure. The reason? Cost, not quality, is the only consideration. If your only concern is cost, your only avenues to reduce cost is by cuts in reimbursement or rationing of services.
If you address HC reform in terms of quality you will improve patient outcomes and reduce costs secondarily.
We should already be thinking in terms of reforming the reforms.

We are in serious trouble.
The Democrats are rushing to meet an artificial deadline on healthcare legislation, even though we have debated this for years.
They are playing politics with close to 20% of the American economy.
Look where political solutions have gotten us with the auto industry, farm and energy policy, social services initiatives, education, etc.
Costly non-effective rat-holes that do not serve those that they were intended to serve. Huge bureaucracies and endlessly escalating government expenditures.
The GOP members of Congress represent 100 million Americans whose representatives deserve a place at the table. They won also, despite being in the minority. The Democrats forget that at their peril.
What’s the rush?

The US is deeply in debt we can not afford this large of a govt. program. Regulation that will reduce costs,ensure portability and help those who cannot afford health insurance is needed but how does that translate into the need for a public option? This is another sign of our government over-reaching.

One only has to look at Medicare to see the future of socialized medicine. It is one, very inefficient as a provider. Two, it is disliked by doctors because it is not only slow paying but it is unprofiitable business for doctors. Three, even with the elimination of private insurance and suppression of costs, it is the biggest unfunded liability our govt has – bigger than social security! State of the art medical care and drugs are developed almost exclusively in the US. People come to US for care from the soicalized countries. It is not vice versa. Before you throw out the most advanced medical care in the world, we better have considerable discussion and not just political whim. There are much better solution than govt run medical care.

This is an easy one for Democrats…just make the rich pay for it. We can’t sustain things like social security and medicare, but heck, why not throw in universal health care too? Obama obviously doesn’t have a problem with spending money we don’t have, so what’s the big deal?
What the heck does the government have to do with the MEDICAL field to begin with? Like I need Pelosi, Reid, and Obama screwing with private medicine.

Let’s face it; the Party of NO is never going to help the President save America so Bipartisanism is never going to happen. Chaney and Limbaugh already told us they want Mr. Obama to fail so why should the Democrats keep trying to get the Republicans to do what’s best for the American people? Obama should just shove through the things he wants and to heck with the Limbaugh/Palin Party.