Demand Health Care Reform!

A monumental battle is playing out in Washington, between those who strive for health care reform, and those who are doing everything in their power to maintain the staus-quo. The American people must stand-up and tell Congress that we do not only demand reform, but that we demand meaningful and sustainable reform that will guarantee health coverage to all Americans.

I call on my readers to take action to make sure that the first chance for real reform in over a decade is not wasted. We must make our voices heard.

Visit HealthReform to understand where we are, what we need to change and how we can get there. Join the fight!

Here is some data from that site which tells a very clear and well substantiated story for why health care reform is required for California. You can get similar information about the state where you live:

• Roughly 19.7 million people in California get health insurance on the job¹, where family premiums average $13,297, about the annual earning of a full-time minimum wage job. ²
• Since 2000 alone, average family premiums have increased by 114 percent in California.³
• Household budgets are strained by high costs: 19 percent of middle-income California families spend more than 10 percent of their income on health care.⁴
• High costs block access to care: 13 percent of people in California report not visiting a doctor due to high costs.⁵
• California businesses and families shoulder a hidden health tax of roughly $1,400 per year on premiums as a direct result of subsidizing the costs of the uninsured.⁶

AFFORDABLE HEALTH COVERAGE IS INCREASINGLY OUT OF REACH IN CALIFORNIA

• 19 percent of people in California are uninsured, and 71 percent of them are in families with at least one full-time worker.⁷
• The percent of Californians with employer coverage is declining: from 58 to 54 percent between 2000 and 2007.⁸
• While small businesses make up 77 percent of California businesses,⁹ only 46 percent of them offered health coverage benefits in 2006.¹⁰
• Choice of health insurance is limited in California. Kaiser Permanente alone constitutes 24 percent of the health insurance market share in California, with the top two insurance providers accounting for 44 percent.¹¹
• Choice is even more limited for people with pre-existing conditions. In California, premiums can vary based on demographic factors and health status, and coverage can exclude pre-existing conditions or even be denied completely in some cases.

To read the citations and end notes cited above, follow this link.

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