Heart disease and cancer are the top two causes of death in the United States. According to the web site, not having health insurance is the third leading cause of death for American citizens. The purpose of Families USA is to promote high-quality, affordable health care. Their Web site contains a wealth of valuable information. For several years now, much of their mission involved research on the effects of no health insurance coverage.
In 2002, the Institute of Medicine released a study titled “Care Without Coverage: Too Little, Too Late.” They estimated that 18,000 adults between the ages of 25 and 64 died in 2000 because they did not have health benefits. The Urban Institute estimated this number increased to 22,000 in 2006. Families USA carried these studies a step further by breaking the numbers down by state. They analyzed all deaths between 2000 and 2006 for individuals aged 25 to 64.
Some of the results follow:
- Alaska, 400
- California, 19,900
- Florida, 13,600
- Nevada, 1,600
- North Carolina, 5,600
- Texas, 17,700
- Virginia 3,200.
Missouri, the state I currently reside in, had 2,800 deaths. During this time the census bureau reported 3.14 million people between the ages of 25 and 64 lived in Missouri. From that group, 15.9 percent had no health insurance coverage. Deaths directly related to lack of health insurance results in almost 10 deaths each week in Missouri. For information and numbers on your state, visit the Families USA Web site at the address above.Families USA concluded the following from their study:
- Uninsured individuals are four times less likely to have regular/preventive care compared to the insured.
- Uninsured adults are more than 30 percent less likely than insured adults to have consulted a doctor in the past year.
- Uninsured adults are more likely to receive a diagnosis in advanced stages of an illness.
- Uninsured individuals are up to three times more likely to report problems in getting medical care.
- Uninsured adults are more than three times as likely as insured adults to put off receiving needed medical care.
- Uninsured adults are 25 percent more likely to die prematurely than covered individuals.
- Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 are at a much greater risk of premature death than individuals with insurance. This makes the condition of being uninsured the third leading cause of death.
- Uninsured individuals have difficulty negotiating doctor and hospital discounts like the insurance companies do. Because of this, they often pay 2.5 times more than the insured individual.
- Three out of five uninsured individuals report having difficulties with their medical bills.
All of this is very alarming to me, as I hope it will be to you. With the aging population and increase in living expenses, affordable health care is more important than ever. As Americans we need to speak out and fight for changes in our current system. Now’s a good time to do this as we approach the upcoming election.
Margaret Norton is a Personal Life Coach/Writer/Speaker who resides in St. Peters, Mo.
(photo credit: gregoryjameswalsh)
April 13th, 2009 by admin | Posted in Health Insurance | Comments (0)
Disparity is defined as a difference in character or quality. With the upcoming U.S. presidential election, there has been a lot of talk about national health care. As the cost of heath care continues to rise, the number of insured individuals continues to decline.
According to the Web site http://www.familiesusa.org (devoted to promoting quality, affordable health care), lack of medical insurance is the third leading cause of death in the United States. For years this site has documented what happens when there’s no health care or poor health care. Facts prove that racial and ethnic minorities in the United States experience major differences in heath care compared to whites. There are many factors which contribute to the disparity in health care. The disparities can be divided into two categories: The first category involves factors such as genetics, personal behavior, environmental factors and personal decisions about health. The second category relates more to race or origin. It includes things such as discrimination, bias, language barriers and preferences in health care.
The following statistics, worth noting, are listed on their Web site:
- African Americans are two times more likely to have diabetes than whites.
- American Indians/Alaska Natives have diabetes rates that are nearly three times the national rate.
- Latina women who were newly diagnosed with lung or breast cancer were diagnosed in later stages and had lower survival rates than white women with similar conditions.
- Nearly six in 10 Latinos and four in 10 African Americans were uninsured for all or part of 2002 and 2003.
When individuals have regular health care they are more likely to receive health screenings, timely diagnoses and earlier treatment of chronic illnesses. Uninsured individuals are less likely to get regular health care. Racial minorities make up one-third of the U.S. population, yet they comprise more than one-half of the uninsured. The facts prove that access to health care is the greatest cause of disparity in our current health care system–something for all of us to think about when the issue of national health care comes up.
Margaret Norton, a Personal Life Coach/Writer/Speaker, resides in St. Peters, Mo.
(photo credit: adrianclarkmbbs)
April 12th, 2009 by admin | Posted in Health Insurance | Comments (0)
Most individuals are aware of credit bureaus and the FBI but few people realize there’s an agency that collects medical information on individuals. The Medical Information Bureau, MIB, was created in 1902 for the purpose of protecting insurance companies. The name has been changed to MIB Group, Inc. It’s a membership corporation or trade association owned by approximately 470 members.
The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and Accurate Credit Transition Act give consumers the right to know the contents of their MIB file. The legal term for this is disclosure. Just like credit reports, a consumer is entitled to one free copy of their MIB report annually. Each time an individual applies for insurance, if the insurance company is a member of the MIB, information about the individual is submitted to the MIB.
If you have never applied for any type of individual insurance there’s no record for you. Just like a credit report, you have the right to dispute information you believe is inaccurate. But unlike credit reports there are fewer incidents of false information. Per the MIB, when they investigate a disputed file only about one percent proves to be false. Health information is more sensitive than credit information therefore more protected.Before the MIB was established insurance companies discovered that individuals were not always truthful when applying for insurance.
Insurance applications always ask individuals to state they provided all their health information and all their answers are true. Individuals sometimes withheld information fearing their insurance would be denied or they’d have a higher premium. This resulted in insurance companies paying claims under fraudulent conditions and incurring unnecessary losses. Thus the MIB was established.The toll free number to call for your free medical report is 866-692-6901.
If it has been longer than seven years since you applied for insurance there will not be a report. Be prepared to give your personal information. This information is validated before they will release any information to you. You are asked to certify under penalty of perjury that all the information you provided is true and that you are who you say you are.
When your request for disclosure is approved, the following information is provided: The nature of all information about you, the name of all MIB companies that reported information about you and the name of any member that received a copy of your report in the past twelve months.Though their error rate is very low it is sometimes useful to request a copy of your MIB report. Sometimes individuals who move frequently and have many medical issues do not always remember doctor names, dates and exact illnesses. The MIB is one source, one call where all your medical information is stored.
Before applying for insurance it’s helpful to request a copy of your MIB report. That way you are sure to disclose everything that they already know about.
April 10th, 2009 by admin | Posted in Health Insurance | Comments (0)
Loading ...
