33 Million Americans Still Don’t Have Health Insurance (That's 10% of the population.)

[think]

33 Million Americans Still Don’t Have Health Insurance

By Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Ben Casselman - SEP 28, 2015 AT 6:30 AM

Nearly 9 million people gained insurance last year, a win for “Obamacare” as the president’s signature health care law expanded Medicaid and opened health insurance exchanges. And yet, 33 million Americans, 10.4 percent of the U.S. population, still went without health insurance for the entirety of 2014. Millions more were uninsured for at least part of the year.1 New data released this month shows they were disproportionately poor, black and Hispanic; 4.5 million of them were children.


It isn’t a surprise that some Americans still don’t have health insurance. Despite aiming to insure “everybody” in the U.S., the Affordable Care Act (ACA) left significant gaps in coverage, and decisions made by the law’s opponents have denied benefits to millions of people it was designed to help. But the new numbers reveal that most of the uninsured last year were people who should have been able to access insurance under the law. That presents a major challenge for President Obama in the final years of his term, but also an opportunity: Millions of Americans qualify for coverage but, for whatever combination of reasons, haven’t yet signed up....


Read more:
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/33-million-americans-still-dont-have-health-insurance/

[tonyt53]

1. That last line says it all.

[think]

2. Single payer would end this. But you'd rather blame the people suffering...

[tonyt53]

4. But Bernie stumbled when Hillary said that would require starting over and repealing the ACA

Free isn't as easy as it appears.

[think]

7. Single Payer is not free. Why do you lie about universal healthcare?

[Dustlawyer]

11. The subsidies are still to low and many medical providers won't take the ACA plans.

I believe the ACA is starting to fail.

[1StrongBlackMan]

6. How would single-payer eliminate the not signing up problem?

[think]

8. How many people in Canada aren't signed up for single payer?

[1StrongBlackMan]

10. I don't know.

[think]

12. Do you think it's in the millions?

[1StrongBlackMan]

14. Again, I don't know.

[nationalize the fed]

21. If more Americans knew how other countries dealt with the health care issue

more Americans would be very upset at what we have all been stuck with.

Here's a helpful link:

Health systems by country
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_systems_by_country

Can you find another country that mandates their citizens to pad the bottom lines of for profit insurance companies yet sticks them with deductibles and co-pays?

Two of the worst things that happened during the health care "debate": Max Baucus (D-INSURANCE) had single payer advocates arrested at a hearing. (search Baucus Raucus Caucus) thereby totally censoring any discussion of such. And then Obama somehow decided to nix the public insurance option, after many promises otherwise.

NY Times Reporter Confirms Obama Made Deal to Kill Public Option

For months I’ve been reporting in The Huffington Post that President Obama made a backroom deal last summer with the for-profit hospital lobby that he would make sure there would be no national public option in the final health reform legislation. (See here, here and here). I’ve been increasingly frustrated that except for an initial story last August in the New York Times, no major media outlet has picked up this important story and investigated further.

Hopefully, that’s changing. On Monday, Ed Shultz interviewed New York Times Washington reporter David Kirkpatrick on his MSNBC TV show, and Kirkpatrick confirmed the existence of the deal. Shultz quoted Chip Kahn, chief lobbyist for the for-profit hospital industry on Kahn’s confidence that the White House would honor the no public option deal, and Kirkpatrick responded:..more
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/miles-mogulescu/ny-times-reporter-confirm_b_500999.html

The US Has the WORST HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD, while the CEO's of the now mandated for profit insurance companies make $30,000 AND UP PER DAY


http://blackbarth.com/unitedhealth-group-ceos-compensation-was-66-13-million-last-year/

Obscene and unsustainable. A Grand Ripoff.

[1StrongBlackMan]

22. Well ...

Can you find another country that mandates their citizens to pad the bottom lines of for profit insurance companies yet sticks them with deductibles and co-pays?

Yes ... most of the countries that Americans that " (know) how other countries dealt with the health care issue." celebrate. It's talked about here:

Canada has each province run a single payer Medicare system

France covers 70% of costs and has the patient pay the remaining 30%

Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands mandate the purchase of private insurance

Scandinavian countries have the patient pay up to a deductible and then the town or district picks up the rest

Australia covers 75% of costs and has the patient pay the remaining 25%

Taiwan charges a copay for every treatment and mandates purchase of prescription drug insurance (it's not quite a mandate but I don't want to get too far into the weeds here)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251847395

[snappyturtle]

3. 2015? nt

[think]

5. Sept 28th 2015. 9 months ago....

[snappyturtle]

9. I realize that however I would have hoped 'someone' would have come

up with a more recent number after the ending of the enrollment period earlier this year. I've heard of and read about so many who have given up on ACA and will suffer the penalty rather than the premiums. My guess is the number is higher than the 33 million cited.

[yourpaljoey]

13. One of the worst things he 'accomplished' - and that's saying something

Most people I come across do not seek health care when NEEDED
due to the prohibitive out-of-pocket and co-pay scam.
They pay for insurance cos to deny them health care.
What a rip-off.

[1StrongBlackMan]

15. So DU continues to be the center of the ...

"I know someone self-employed or part-time working, red state living, that had a bad ACA experienced" world.

Oh yeah. Welcome to DU!

[kentauros]

16. The ACA will not subsidize insurance if you are not employed.

I learned that from talking to a Marketplace person when I was trying to determine eligibility last fall, as well as my tax-obligations. So, since the beginning of this year, I also do not have health insurance.

The other reason I don't have it is that BCBS raised my rate from $415 per month, to $525 for the same "silver" plan. It was a good plan, while I was working. But, a 20% increase is not worth the extra money for the same plan. Luckily, the doctor I found while still insured lets me "free pay" so for $125 I get a decent visit with her, though I still have to pay full price on drugs. She at least has prescribed OTC type drugs where applicable instead of whatever prescription-only types others might prescribe.

And now BCBS has announced that they are raising their rates 60%! It sure does seem like the insurance companies are trying to go out of business.

[LiberalEsto]

17. and many of those who do have it can barely afford it nt

[Travis_0004]

18. Since there is no ban on preexisting condtions, I would imagine a lot of people dont sign up

I'm not saying I agree with the idea, but if health insurance is expensive, some are willing to take the risk.

[Monk06]

19. Which coincidentally is the same number of Canadians who do (That's 100% of the population)

Some more fun facts comparing Canada to the US


Yearly spending on healthcare -- Canada $137.3 billion -- US $3.8 trillion

Per capita government spending on healthcare -- Canada $5,988 -- US $9,403

Percentage of GDP spent on healthcare -- Canada 11.6% -- US 16%


The interesting number is yearly spending on healthcare This is the total amount of money spent in the health sector including insurance companies, hospitals and HMOs and drug companies

The US spends 27.67 times more on healthcare all in than Canada but the US government still spends almost twice as much on healthcare than Canada through Medicare and Medicaid

This is why Americans will never have an affordable national health care plan for the poor and working poor unless Medicare and Medicaid is expanded

Healthcare is an industry in the US, a $3.8 Trillion cash cow for insurance companies, medical supply companies and private HMOs

In Canada hospitals are publically owned and financed While insurance companies are barred by law from insuring basic medicalcare They can do cosmetic and travel insurance but that's it

[think]

20. Thank you for your some information from the Canadian perspective. Greatly appreciated. /nt

[justiceischeap]

23. I'm a freelancer and I don't have healthcare

Can't afford the $300 a month it would cost.