Disturbing News
Today . . .
- One out of every nine children does not have health care coverage,
- Poor children are four times more likely to be uninsured than more affluent children.
- Most uninsured children have at least one working parent and most live in families with incomes above poverty.
- White children are the largest group of uninsured children (40% - probably due to the larger numbers in population) However, the odds of being uninsured are worse for Black and Latino children; Black children are almost two times more likely and Latino children are almost three times more likely tha White Children to be uninsured.
Uninsured children are waiting for health care . . .
- One in six has parents who delayed medical care because of the cost.
- One in every nine has an unmet medical need.
- One in every five has an unmet dental need.
- One in every seven has not seen a doctor for two or more years.
I guess the thing that disturbs me most is not the fact that these are children who are potentially suffering from the lack of necessary insured medical care (even though this fact disturbs me very much), but the fact that this is happening in the U.S.! The most affluent country on the planet, and a very large part of the population has children who need medical attention and care but will not get it because of lack of insurance.
IMHO these facts communicate that money in the insurance industry is far more important than the care of individuals. Insurance costs in this country are so out of control it's scary. To often, those who are barely making ends meet do not work for companies which can provide their employees with health care benfits, so these families suffer. This should not be.
posted by T.B. Vick | 8:30 PM
2 Comments:
Try not to be too discouraged here. I think there's a false appearance. Medical coverage is a fairly new thing on the landscape of life. I would wager that more children are being covered now than ever before. But if you listen to the media, the biggest crime there is is to not have coverage. But it's just that the rate of increase of people being covered is far less than the rate of increase of the portrayed standard of care. The acceptable norm (wishful thinking indeed) is now unlimited coverage for absolutely no cost. Of course things look bleak when compared to that.
If you compare the US to any other country, our medical system is still better. Yes, some socialist systems, like Canada, have 100% coverage for all their citizens. Although we have a certain number of children who won't get care because of lack of insurance, an even higher percentage of Canadians won't get care despite having insurance. Every last Canadian I've ever known has talked with disdain for their system after coming here.
In the US, if somebody is found to have, say, heart blockage, he's on the table by tomorrow morning in a life saving by-pass operation. In Canada, they wait 9 months for the operation - if they're still alive.
Yeah, there's great room for improvement, but ours is the best there is.
Hey Steve,
I can see how our situation here in the U.S. is better than others around the world, and your point is well taken. I guess the thing that bothers me is that my wife and I (especially because of her job) having both worked with children for many years (combined) have seen too many families that have been denied care from good hospitals due to lack of insurance or no money to cover the costs.
I agree with your comments, our care is perhaps better than others around the world, but I also agree that there is great room for improvement.
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