A frightening ‘first’ has been acknowledged in a recent Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research Educational Trust. It seems that for the first time in United States history, the cost of health insurance for a family of four now exceeds the yearly income of a minimum wage earner.<\/p>\n
The LA Times has reported<\/strong><\/a> on this survey, that gives the amount of $10,880.00 as the cost for insuring a family of four, whereas the income for a minimum wage earner is $10,712.00. Tragically, this rise in costs of premiums has also seen a dramatic downward shift in the amount of businesses offering health insurance plans to their employee’s, which helps illuminate why it is that we are seeing so many people dropping off the insured statistic grid in the United States.<\/p>\n “When we consider that it is small business that drives the economy … to have that engine resting on the backs of millions of uninsured workers is a bad proposition for the U.S. economy,” said Peter Lee, president of the San Francisco-based Pacific Business Group on Health, an alliance of employers that buys insurance for big companies.<\/p>\n “This has to be seen as a wake-up call to policymakers and healthcare providers, as it puts an increasing burden on an already frayed safety net.” <\/p><\/blockquote>\n Interestingly enough, most people would like to point the finger at litigation as the primary reason for this, but more information is emerging that shows the symbiosis between insurance companies and health care providers is causing a huge portion of the inflated costs. What are often referred to as ‘usual and customary costs’ paid to health care providers by insurance companies are at this point far less than the amount charged for the services, and it is being speculated that medical providers are in turn trying to make up the difference by ordering unnecessary tests, or office visits.<\/p>\n Regardless, the tag line of the reporting article rang menacingly true to me:<\/p>\n “We’re in a new universe of healthcare coverage, where it is a commodity only for the wealthy,” said Jerry Flanagan, with the Foundation for Taxpayers and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica consumer rights group.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A frightening ‘first’ has been acknowledged in a recent Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research Educational Trust. It seems that for the first time in United States history, the cost of health insurance for a family of four now exceeds the yearly income of a minimum wage earner. Continue reading