House District 18 Representative, MIchael Merrifield addresses the Labor Day healthcare rally. He is term limited out next year and Pete Lee will run for his seat.
More than 100 million Americans at risk of being denied health insurance due to a preexisting condition. One in three Americans 133 million people have a chronic health condition, like diabetes or high blood pressure. In 44 states, insurance companies can deny an individual coverage for having a chronic or preexisting condition, meaning that nearly 1/3 of the U.S. population is at risking of being denied healthcare coverage. [Association of Schools of Public Health, May 13, 2009 ; Center for American Progress, April 2009]
Families Finding It Increasingly Difficult to Pay Medical Bills. In 2007, nearly 20 percent of Americans more than 57 million people - had trouble paying their medical bills. Thats a 28 percent increase since 2003. Of those struggling to pay for healthcare, almost three-quarters had some form of health insurance. [Commonwealth Fund, August 2008]
Healthcare costs are eating up a huge portion of the U.S. economy. In 2009, the United States will spend a staggering $2.5 trillion over 17.5 percent of GDP on health care expenses.
http://content.healthaffairs.org
Fewer Small Businesses Offering Insurance Because of Costs. Between 2000 and 2007, the percentage of small firms offering their employees health insurance fell by 13 percent and more than two-thirds of small businesses switched to plans that covered fewer services or had higher out of pocket costs. Nearly one-third of the uninsured 13 million people are employees of firms with less than 100 workers. [Current Population Survey, March 2008, and Kaiser Family Foundation, September 2008]
20 Percent of Employers Planning on Ending Insurance Benefits Because of Costs. Unless the current health care system is reformed, nearly 20 percent of employers plan to drop employee health insurance altogether over the next 3 to 5 years. [Center for American Progress, May 2009]
Waste and inefficiency in health care system cost billions. Wasteful and inefficient spending in the U.S. health care system costs roughly $700 billion a year effectively levying a $20 surcharge on every American man, woman, and child.
http://www.cbo.gov
Number of Uninsured Expected to Increase by More than 50 Percent. Currently 46 million people in the United States are uninsured. In the absence of comprehensive health care reform, this number is projected to rise to about 72 million by 2040. [The White House, Economic Case for Health Care Reform, June 2009]
Costs Lead to Diminishing Benefits, Higher Deductibles. Because of rising health insurance costs, employers are increasingly offering coverage that requires employees to pay more out of pocket for health care. In one year, the percentage of workers enrolled in insurance with a deductible of $1,000 or more jumped from 12 percent to 18 percent. [Kaiser Family Foundation, September 2008]
Individual Market Offers Few Options Because of High Costs. According to a study by the Commonwealth Fund, more than two-thirds of people shopping for health insurance in the individual market found it difficult or impossible to find adequate coverage. [Center for American Progress, May 2009]
Number of Uninsured Middle-Class Families Expected to Rise Because of Costs. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the number of middle-class families without health insurance probably will jump 45% by 2019. [Robert Wood Johnson Foundation]
Most Uninsured Americans Are Employed but Have No Coverage. 86.7 million people went without health insurance for some period of time during 2007 and 2008. Of these uninsured, four out of five were from working families who did not get coverage from their employer. [Families USA, March 2009]
http://www.MichaelMerrifield.org
http://CSaction.org
http://csaction.org/TPs/TP_LAMEborn.html
http://www.healthcareforallcolorado.org/
http://www.peakdems.org/
http://www.barackobama.com/
http://www.aarp.org/
http://www.seiu.org/
http://www.ufcw7.com
http://www.coloradansforpeace.org/
http://www.theafricanamericanvoice.com/
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Health Care Reform Rally - Michael Merrifieldby lwirbel64 views
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