![What You Can Do? Stay Informed ; Host a Community Forum on Universal Health Care to educate your congregation and region [sign up today!]; Encourage people of faith and goodwill to contact state legislators and inspire them to provide health care for everyone; Meet with public officials yourself and urge them to work on health care reform;](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/conferenceofchurchesuniversalhealthcarepresentation1-1209402894015768-9/85/Conference-Of-Churches-Universal-Health-Care-Presentation-1-31-320.jpg)
Conference Of Churches Universal Health Care Presentation 1
- 2. Universal Health Care Access A Right Not a Privilege
- 3. The Problem
- 4. Connecticut’s Health Care System: A Need For Bold Change
- 5. The Health Care Crisis The rate of growth is not sustainable Families can’t afford increasing costs Small businesses can’t afford the premiums and the unpredictable cost increases
- 6. Health-related bankruptcies are skyrocketing Doctors and hospitals can’t absorb any more uncompensated care The uninsured and underinsured are getting too little care too late at too high a price
- 7. Premium costs are out of reach for many From 2000 to 2004, CT workers’ health premiums grew by 56% while wages grew by only 14% CT is the 6th most expensive state in the US for family health insurance premiums and 12th most expensive for individual coverage Source: AHRQ, Health Affairs , Lewin Group, OHCA
- 9. One in nine CT residents is uninsured 365,000 CT residents are uninsured – more than the combined populations of New Haven PLUS Hartford PLUS Waterbury PLUS Middletown The number is rising – 50,000 more residents were uninsured in 2004 than in 2003 - more than the population of nine out of ten CT municipalities – and things are likely to get worse rather than better Sources: US Census, CT DOL, Families USA
- 10. CT’s Uninsured: Most are working people Most want coverage but can’t afford it Many work for small businesses Many are young, age 19 to 29, often too old to remain on parents’ plan or HUSKY Many are near-elderly, age 55 to 64, hoping to stay well until they become eligible for Medicare Source: OHCA
- 11. Why are people uninsured? Most can’t afford insurance Employers don’t provide it High cost of individual or family premiums, Many can’t afford their share of the costs for their employer-sponsored plan Many have a pre-existing condition making health care coverage hard to obtain Source: Kaiser Commission
- 12. Even if you’re covered, you can be under-insured If you are insured, you still have co-pays, deductibles, and co-insurance. Sometimes the services you need are not covered Half of all bankruptcies are due to high medical bills – and most of those are among people who HAVE health insurance
- 13. Any of us can lose our insurance Many people are just a pink slip away from being uninsured People lose insurance when they Lose a job Graduate from school, Get married or divorced Suffer a major illness or accident Source: OHCA, IOM
- 14. High administrative costs add to health care spending Government programs spend less on administration than private programs Sources: CMS, DOI, DSS
- 15. Our health care spending is not sustainable for our economy In 1980, national health expenditures were 8.8% of Gross Domestic Product. By 2014 they are predicted to be 18.7% Sources: Mapping Health and Insurance Coverage in CT, CMS US health care total spending projections
- 16. The U.S. spends more on health care than any other country Source: Health Affairs Health care consumes 16 cents of every dollar in the US economy
- 17. Our health outcomes are worse than countries that spend much less Source: World Health Organization
- 18. Taxpayers already pay for a large share of CT’s health care Source: Mapping Health Spending and Insurance Coverage in CT Sources of CT health Care Spending, CT 2005
- 19. Medical debt can destroy lives… Out of pocket costs are up 62% since 1993 Four out of ten adults under age 65 have problems related to medical bills or debt Half of American bankruptcies are triggered by medical bills Sources: Kaiser Family Fndn, Health Affairs, Access Project
- 20. Medical debt kills… Adults with medical debt are three times more likely to skip a recommended test or treatment and twice as likely not to fill a prescription due to cost People with medical debt are just as likely to have employer coverage, but they have fewer benefits Sources: Kaiser Family Fndn, Health Affairs, Access Project
- 21. What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God? Micah 6:8
- 22. Where Do We Start?
- 23. Why not cover everyone? Address this moral issue by providing all residents access to quality care Encourages the use of preventative care and early diagnostic services that enhance lives and save money Free up emergency rooms for real emergencies
- 24. Health Care for Everyone Stabilize the system that is now increasingly unpredictable Reduce health care costs by increasing the buying power of consumers and by reducing illness
- 25. We can afford to cover everyone Economists estimate that covering everyone would SAVE the United States between $320.5 billion and $1.1 trillion over a decade Companies that operate in Canada, with universal health care, save an estimated $4 per hour per worker on health insurance costs compared to the US The Institute of Medicine estimates that the US economy loses $65 to $130 billion each year in productivity due to workers’ lack of coverage Sources: Nat. Coalition on Health Care, Washington Post, IOM
- 26. Other states are doing it Massachusetts Maine Illinois Sources: States of ME, IL, MA
- 27. Health Care Reform means… Secure access to health insurance for those who lack it Improvement in cost-effectiveness and quality health care Health care that is affordable for everyone!
- 28. Why is Universal Healthcare important? We all pay for inefficiency and those uninsured now. Thousands of residents are just a paycheck away from being uninsured.
- 29. The Institute of Medicine defines Universal Health Care as a system that: Includes everyone; Is continuous and portable from job to job, employment to unemployment; Is affordable to individuals, especially those with limited income; Is affordable and sustainable to society; and Enhances health and well-being.
- 30. Working together. Changing lives. We each can make a difference. Surveys show that policymakers trust their constituents -- people from the real world -- far more than lobbyists, advocates, even “experts” Go to the website www. healthcare4every1.org and sign up to be a part of the campaign for universal health care Get the tools at the health advocacy toolbox www.cthealthpolicy.org/toolbox
- 31. What You Can Do? Stay Informed ; Host a Community Forum on Universal Health Care to educate your congregation and region [sign up today!]; Encourage people of faith and goodwill to contact state legislators and inspire them to provide health care for everyone; Meet with public officials yourself and urge them to work on health care reform;
- 32. “ You must be the Change you wish to see in the World.” -- Mahatma Gandhi
- 33. Together We Can Make a Difference!!! Together we can make affordable, quality health care accessible to all residents.