Affordable health insurance a must

Our country has every right to pride itself on our health care system. The medical research done by university and private researchers is unsurpassed. We create thousands of drugs and treatments that save lives here and all over the world. And Washington state, with our fine medical school, hospitals and research facilities, plays a major part in that.

But at the same time, 10.7 percent of Washingtonians were uninsured in 2002, an increase from 8.4 percent just two years before. Nationally, almost 15 percent of Americans don't have health insurance.

This is not just a problem for the unemployed. Eight of 10 uninsured people are in a family where at least one person is working. The rising cost of health care is burdening businesses and is being passed on to workers in a way that is untenable for the future. Some families are choosing between paying utility bills and buying health insurance while others are choosing to insure some family members and not others.

Going without insurance is always a gamble. Many people lose their health benefits when they lose their jobs, and they take the chance that nothing catastrophic will happen before the next job comes along.

The gamble will pay off for some. Some families will go for months without injury or illness and then find a job with health benefits to cover everyone.

But some will lose the dice roll. A simple broken arm can cost thousands of dollars to fix and that's getting off easy compared with a heart attack, seizure or head injury. Less catastrophic, but just as dangerous, is the worsening effects of undiagnosed and untreated health problems. Studies show that uninsured women who develop breast cancer are twice as likely to die as women with breast cancer who have coverage. Men without health insurance are nearly 50 percent more likely to be diagnosed at a late stage for colon cancer as men with insurance. Patients with such manageable ailments as asthma can't get regular monitoring, so families are forced to go from crisis to crisis, racking up bills they may never be able to pay.

If this doesn't pull on your heartstrings, you should know it's already pulling on your purse strings.

Many, including providers, insurers, businesses, consumers and the uninsured themselves, share the costs of caring for the uninsured. In fact, medical bills are cited as a reason for one of two personal bankruptcy filings. In addition, many Americans without health insurance have no other option than to use emergency rooms, often when they are sicker and treatment is more expensive. And ultimately, the health of the whole community is compromised when people can't afford to get their illnesses treated.

Employer-sponsored health insurance covers about 63 percent of our state's population, according to University of Washington's Health Policy Analysis Program and the state's Office of Financial Management. Small businesses are the engine of our economy, but they are unable to keep up with rising costs. Some are passing on the increased costs to their employees; others are dropping health insurance completely. Nationally, the number of small firms offering health benefits fell 6 percent in the previous year.

But big companies are struggling, too. The economy is weak and with health care costs rising, companies are being forced to make choices between the number of employees they can keep and the level of health insurance they can offer. To be able to offer insurance, many companies are passing the increasing costs on to their employees, but this isn't solving the problem. As many as 20 percent of uninsured Americans have access to employer-sponsored coverage, but they still cannot afford it.

That brings us to the solution part of the puzzle.

This problem is so urgent, and has such pervasive consequences, that dozens of organizations have pledged to be involved in the public dialogue needed to solve it. Nationally and here in this state, business and labor have joined with health care workers, hospitals, doctors and other civic organizations to be part of the solution.

All the members of this week's Cover The Uninsured campaign may have different solutions in mind. We may even have different takes on the source of the problem. But we do agree that unless we put the uninsured at the top of our nation's agenda, we will continue to see families suffer and businesses held back.

You may have the security of health insurance today. But just as we are coming together to be part of a long-term solution to this situation, we are encouraging Americans from all walks of life to do the same. To learn more about how you can be involved in the solution, visit www.covertheuninsuredweek.org.

And let's get America covered.

Don Brunell is president of the Association of Washington Business. Rick Bender is president of the Washington State Labor Council

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