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HEALTH CARE: If You Like What You Have -- Wake Up

September 9, 2009 - 1:33pm

(Reposting this to correct a typo -- it's age 18-64, not 19)

One political obstacle to health reform is that most Americans say they lilke their current health care (although I've never been clear whether that means they like their doctor or their insurer.) But in reality, their insurance may be a lot more precarious than they realize..

Half of all working age Americans -- a whopping 88 million people between ages 189 and 64 and their families -- have at least one risk factor that makes their health care insecure, according to a new report from the Third Way (And that's not even taking into account the rising cost of insurance).

  • 46 million Americans have serious pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes or cancer, which makes it harder or more expensive to get coverage.
  • 20 million skipped a doctor's visit because of the cost.
  • 37 million had a gap in their insurance coverage.
  • 23 million Americans had very high health care costs (spending more than $1 out of every $8 on premiums, or having high out-of-pocket expenses).

So when people say they like what they have, they need to ask themselves: will "what they have" be there when they need it? And will it be there tomorrow? With health reform, the answer will be yes. Without it -- cross your fingers.