What’s the cost of doing nothing to our health care system?

According to a study done by the New America Foundation, in 2006 our economy lost $200 billion because of poor health and shorter life spans of the uninsured. We stand to lose over $2 trillion over the next 10 years if we do nothing.

The National Coalition on Health said that over the last decade, employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have increased 119 percent. They also stated that job-based health insurance cost will increase 100 percent over the next 10 years. Employer-based family insurance costs for a family of four will reach nearly $25,000 per year by 2018 without any type of health care reform.

So what’s the impact of doing nothing?

More Americans will be forced to forego health care coverage due to high and escalating costs.

More Americans will be filing bankruptcies: Facts are that 62 percent of all bankruptcies filed in 2007 were linked to medical expenses.

More Americans will be losing their homes: It’s no secret that about 1.5 million families lose their homes to foreclosure every year due to unaffordable medical costs.

More Americans will lose their jobs: If nothing is done with health care reform, small businesses will pay nearly $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years in health care costs for their workers and 178,000 small business jobs will be lost by 2018 as a result of health care costs.

More children will be uninsured. In America today, according to the Children’s Defense Fund, there are 9 million children who do not have health care coverage. In Minnesota alone there are 92,000 children who are uninsured.

The facts are clear: We as a nation cannot afford to do nothing.

Mike Lee

Albert Lea