For most of us, a persistent cough or an unusual pain is a quick doctor visit, a small co-pay and an inconvenient trip to Walgreens. But for those without health insurance, a doctor visit is too costly, and sufferers wait until that cough becomes pneumonia or that pain becomes bone cancer before finally heading to the emergency room and racking up huge medical bills.The Census Bureau recently announced a 2.9 percent increase in the number of people in the U.S. without health insurance ' a record 46.6 million or 15.9 percent of the population. In 1987, only 12.9 percent of the population did not have health insurance. That alone should merit an effort by employers ' the primary health care providers ' health insurance companies and the government to come together to solve this problem. It's their employees and constituents who are suffering.It's not just a liberal, humanitarian endeavor or one that should only matter to those who cannot afford health care. The insured have to pay more to subsidize the cost of the uninsured ' an additional $922 per family's insurance plan in 2005, according to a study by the consumer group Families USA. Uninsured patients only pay on average about a third of the costs of their care, leaving the government and insurance providers to pick up the tab. Moreover, since uninsured patients know that their doctor or hospital visits will be expensive, they often do not get routine checkups that could prevent more serious medical problems. When they do finally decide to get medical attention, it is an emergency room visit that costs an estimated six times more than treatment at a doctor's office. One percent of uninsured Americans even visit the emergency room as their primary source of care, according a 2000 survey by the Kaiser Commission.Medical care is also a huge cause of bankruptcy. Fifty percent of all bankruptcy claims can be partly blamed on medical expenses, according to the National Coalition on Health Care. It is time, past time, for this looming issue to be resolved. As politicians begin their pre-election banter, the uninsured problem is one that must be addressed. Health care should not be a luxury. Politicians on both sides of the fence need to put aside partisan squabbling and work toward that goal, for all Americans' sakes.
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New data show more and more Americans suffering from lack of health insurance
