Insured Pay for Uninsured
The costs of care for uninsured patients are shifted to insured patients.
When uninsured patients cannot pay for the care they receive, healthcare providers raise the prices they charge health insurance companies to recoup these losses. The insurance companies in turn pass the costs along to their policy-holders. It is estimated that in 2008, insured families paid an extra $1,270 in health insurance premiums to cover the costs of the uninsured (PolitiFact.com).
This does not mean, however, that the uninsured are receiving the care they need. Between 2000 and 2006, about 137,000 people died because they did not have health insurance and did not get the care they needed (Dorn, 2008).
Sources
PolitiFact.com. A Reasonable Estimate for Uninsured Costs. www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2008/may/02/hillary-clinton/a-reasonable-estimate-for-uninsured-costs/.
Dorn, Stan. 2008. Uninsured and Dying Because of It: Updating the Institute of Medicine Analysis of the Impact on Mortality of Uninsurance. The Urban Institute, January. www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411588_uninsured_dying.pdf.
Since 1997, The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati has invested over $111 million in projects that improve the health of the Cincinnati area. With major healthcare reform imminent, the Health Foundation aims to be a source for credible, timely information that can inform people in our region about the healthcare reform debate. While we do not support any specific plan or approach, we do support certain principles that we believe would improve access to healthcare and make our region healthier.
The Health Foundation supports a healthcare system that:
- IS FOR ALL and
- Is a coordinated system that preserves choice
- Provides access to affordable insurance coverage
- Provides access to appropriate healthcare services
- Encourages and rewards quality care, and
- Has broad financing and cost controls
Please visit http://www.healthfoundation.org/reform for more information.