Lisa Ann Batitto and Patricia Rojas report
The American Cancer Society announced that cancer rates in the United States were
decreasing. According to its report, death rates from cancer have been dropping by an average of 2.1 percent a year.
However, it wasn't good news for everyone. The report found that Native Americans and Alaska Natives in some regions are not benefiting from the same health improvements and have higher rates of preventable cancers and late-stage tumors due to a lack of early detection. Researchers attribute this discrepancy to — among other things — poverty and lack of insurance.
Given that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that chronic illnesses are responsible for $445 billion in direct medical costs, it is no surprise that the Commonwealth Fund found that one-third of all American families report having problems with medical bills or debt.
Census data shows that more than 47 million Americans — including 8.7 million children — are uninsured. An additional 17 million adults are underinsured, which means their insurance does not cover catastrophic health care expenses. For people living paycheck to paycheck, medical bills can break an already strained budget. One-half of low-income workers have problems with medical bills or are paying off medical debt, states the Commonwealth Fund.
According to The Access Project, a resource center for local communities working to improve health and healthcare access, more than 25 percent of people surveyed said they were experiencing housing problems because of medical debt, including the inability to make rent or mortgage payments, and the development of bad credit ratings. The Access Project also states that debt resulting from medical bills deters people from seeking future medical care, which can result in the need for more expensive treatment later on.
Early this year, The Access Project and Demos, a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy organization, published their findings in a report titled "Borrowing to Stay Healthy: How Credit Card Debt Is Related to Medical Expenses." The report concluded that as health care costs continue to rise, families are turning to credit cards to pay for medical care. Based on data from a national survey of low- and middle-income households with credit card debt, "Borrowing to Stay Healthy" illustrates that those who identified medical expenses as a factor in their credit card balances had much higher credit card debt than those who did not. Even Americans with insurance, the report shows, increasingly find themselves paying unmanageable out-of-pocket expenses for health care and do not have assets or income safety nets to cover the extra costs.
The health care crisis has been a key issue with Presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle. In the meantime, politicians are taking action on the statewide level, and health care and medical organizations have stepped up to the plate in an effort to force changes.
In 2006, Massachusetts became the first state to attempt to cover all its residents with health insurance. The reform subsidizes coverage for low-income people without insurance. This year, California governer Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a plan that would provide health coverage to all Californians. It includes provision under which very low-income Californians would be provided expanded access to public programs, such as Medi-Cal, and lower-income working residents will be provided financial assistance to help with the cost of insurance.
In August, the American Cancer Society announced that it would be devoting its entire $15 million dollar advertising budget to the consequences of inadequate health coverage. The campaign's message is that progress against chronic disease would be stalled until the health care system was fixed. Because the lack of health insurance has consequences beyond cancer care and prevention, the cancer society formed a collaborative with the American heart, diabetes and Alzheimer's associations as well as the American Association of Retired Persons to promote awareness. The group believes that "all Americans deserve quality, affordable health care." Additionally, the American Medical Association has kicked off a three-year campaign called “Voice for the Uninsured” that contains the tagline: "Because 1 out of 7 is 47 million too many." The AMA's proposal would provide all Americans with the means to purchase health care coverage.
Peggie Sherry, a cancer survivor and founder of the Tampa, Florida,-based foundation Faces of Courage, knows first hand how vital these initiatives are for people in need. She was quoted by Demos as saying, "When I was diagnosed with cancer several years ago, the cost of the treatment wasn't my mind. The expenses piled up, but what other option is there? All I could do was deplete my savings and then turn to my credit cards to pay the bills. There are millions others in the same boat. This research should set alarm bells off in Washington."
