| Despite
the efforts of HMOs, health care costs have continued to rise
for the past 20 years. Rather than continue to absorb these cost
increases, employers are now passing along a greater share of
the expense to their employees. This has led to increasing
consumer concern over the affordability of health care, while
the ranks of the uninsured have swelled to roughly 40 million
Americans – including nearly 10 million children. According to
a national survey conducted in 2000, the most frequent reason
given for not having adequate health insurance was that it was
“too expensive.” Since then, health care costs have only
gotten higher with a 10% increase in 2001 and a projected
increase of more than 13% for 2002. Furthermore, while Medicare
provides coverage to 40 million Americans, experts say that it
will run out of money by 2029.
Experts
across the political spectrum are joining together in the call
for examining these problems. In fact, “strange bedfellows”
such as Families USA and the Health Insurance Association of
America now find themselves in a coalition with 10 other
organizations, CoveringTheUninsured.org,
with the purpose of addressing the problem of the uninsured in
America.
All
sides are looking for an answer to these growing problems and
the debate is lively over what needs to be done. Is the system
fundamentally sound and only in need of minor adjustments? Or do
we need to rebuild the system from the ground up? Who should
take the lead in shaping health care in the future? Should the
system be essentially market-based or government-driven?
In
an effort to help answer these questions, Congressman Richard
Baker led a one-day forum in Baton Rouge to examine what state
and community leaders could do to reduce the costs of health
care and shrink the rolls of the uninsured in Louisiana. americans
discuss health: Finding Solutions for Louisiana will be
designed to identify the current challenges facing the health
care community as it attempts to deliver quality care to the
people of Louisiana.
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