Un-insured. In 2005 17.2% of North Carolinians under the age of 65 lacked health insurance for at least one year. An average of 1,500,000 residents had no health insurance. The proportion of uninsured residents ranged from a low of 13.4% in Wake County to a high of 27.5% in Tyrrell County. These figures make North Carolina one of the states with the largest number of uninsured in the country. The un-insured are 25% more likely to die a premature death (Holmes from Sheps Center study).
Under-insured. Most North Carolinians are "under-insured." Under insurance means that you have health insurance but procedures or benefits are not covered or are only partially covered.
For example: your insurer has excluded a pre-existing condition from your policy. Or maybe your deductibles and co-pays will become a financial burden that could lead to personal bankruptcy if you become seriously ill. Or, your lifetime policy benefit is too low and your share of costs will be enormously high if you have a catastrophic illness.
Lack of personal security. You should have the personal security knowing that whatever your employment status, age, income, or medical history or condition, you have health insurance. The United States is the only industrialized country that does not have a national health insurance plan that covers everyone. It is the only country where people go bankrupt trying to cover health care costs. It is the only country where people worry about how they will pay for unexpected health care costs.
Runaway premiums. Annual health care premium cost increases far exceed cost-of-living increases. Health care premiums have risen 28.1% since 2000. In 2005, the average inflation-adjusted health care premium for family coverage in North Carolina was $9,972 which is 28.1% higher than in 2000. Similarly, the average health care premium for individual coverage in North Carolina has risen 25.6% to an estimated $3,926 in 2005 (Join Economic Committee report, September 2007). North Carolina's median household income fell by $3,345 during the same time period despite strong productivity.
Rising deductibles and co-payments. Even as premiums rise dramatically, we are paying more and more out of pocket for the same health care services.
Employer squeeze. Employers are put in a tough position of having to balance profits and employee health care needs. They increasingly face the task of choosing among insurers and millions of policy plans. Most recently employers have found it less expensive to fly workers to foreign countries for medical procedures. North Carolina has experienced an especially large decline in the percent of residents who received health care insurance from their employers.
Emergency room closures. Today, every North Carolinian, insured or not, facing an emergency, has to cope with hours of emergency room wait. This is because emergency rooms have become the last resort for the uninsured. Increasingly emergency rooms are providing so much uncompensated care that they have had to close their doors.
Lack of choice of providers. For many North Carolinians their choice of health care providers increasingly has become severely limited by insurance companies. Often, especially in rural areas, they are unable to find a provider near where they live.
Poorer benefits. Many insurance companies have limited benefits. For example, dental, vision and many parts of mental health care are often non-existent or inadequate.
Inefficiency and confusion. We have thousands of insurance companies and tens of thousands of insurance plans. It is confusing for patients, providers, employers and it is very inefficient. Too many health care dollars + nearly 30% - are spent on tedious administrative costs, marketing, and profit instead of on direct health care services.
Poorer medical outcomes. The United States spends twice as much money for health care per capita than the most advanced industrial countries and has the worst population-based health care outcomes in the industrialized world. For example, our life expectancy is the lowest in the industrialized world. To a large extent, this is because there are no system-wide standards of care or standards for reporting and investigating errors. It is estimated that over 700,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors in hospitals. Clinical and administrative waste is a big problem in our health care system.
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