rmerly served as a senior foreign-policy adviser to the U.S, http://www.tomsoutletsaleonlinecheap.com - tomsoutletsaleonlinecheap.com . Catholic bishops.[标签:标题]
With a new Census Bureau report showing that 43.7 million Americans lack health insurance, http://www.tomsoutletsaleonlinecheap.com - Toms Shoes Outlet , the usual suspects make shock-and-awe comments–shock that the numbers are so high and awe that the government doesn’t do something dramatic. Most favor the federal government spending copious sums of money to rectify the situation. But the issue needs a more sober consideration; the surprise is that there aren’t more uninsured Americans. And if we’re serious about doing something about it, government is going to have to do less, http://www.tomsoutletsaleonlinecheap.com - Toms Shoes Outlet Store Sale . Advertisement Census Bureau studies don’t usually lend themselves to great excitement, but when the topic is the uninsured, all bets are off. With news that the number of uninsured Americans has risen by 5.7 percent, front-page stories in newspapers across the country report similar factoids, like the observation that the total number is higher than the combined populations of 24 states.The problems of the uninsured are different than those portrayed by the shock-and-awe crowd. The uninsured don’t lack health care; they lack health insurance. As a study by Blue Cross-Blue Shield noted earlier this year, about a third earn more than $50,000 a year. The situation isn’t necessarily dire for the rest–fully another third is eligible for Medicaid or some other type of assistance.But for some working poor, the lack of insurance leads to a patchwork of free clinics and emergency rooms, expensive and government-subsidized alternatives to insurance. There are good reasons to worry about the uninsured working poor. For families without medical coverage, there is the stress of uncertainty and a lack of consistency in medical care. For the taxpayer, there is huge financial burden, approaching perhaps $100 billion a year.Why are some Americans lacking insurance and what can be done? If you want to understand the basic problem, look no further than the predicament of small business. A Californian recently explained how expensive it is to insure the employees of his family’s business. With five healthy employees and their families, the annual bill for medical coverage sits at just under $100,000 per year. Granted the plan is generous and includes limited co-pays–but the price tag is stiff. Even less generous plans are expensive. The average cost of a family health plan rose from $8,000 in 2002 to more than $9,000 this year.And for small businesses struggling to make ends meet, there is a temptation to simply cut all health benefits. Not surprisingly, the biggest drop in coverage this year occurred with Americans having employer-provided insurance. Indeed, excluding those eligible for Medicaid, most of the uninsured are employed by companies with fewer than ten employees.Many now want the federal and state governments to step in by expanding public programs or providing tax relief to business–or both. All of the major Democratic presidential candidates, for example, offer sweeping (and costly) health reforms.But looking to a government solution overlooks the profound role government has played in creating this problem in the first place. Consider California. Legislators have passed reams of regulations designed to make health insurance safe and fair by tying the hands of small businesses in their choice of plans. The end result is that even the most basic policies are expensive and overly comprehensive. Mandated coverage–those illnesses and treatments that must be included–requires second opinions, off label use of prescription drugs, and diabetic self-management in every Californian policy.Further complicating the situation in America’s largest state is two more regulations: guaranteed issue (everyone must be sold insurance) and community rating (price must be based on age, not health). Together, guaranteed issue and community rating undermine the very principle of insurance, allowing people to get sick and then buy health insurance without financial penalty.California is hardly the exception. Regulat
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