Health Care Story of the Week - 3/11/10

This week, instead of telling the story of one family, we'd like to share information about the state of health care in Tennessee as a whole. The following information comes from Families USA. More info on all states can be found at http://www.familiesusa.org/health-reform-2010/cost-of-doing-nothing.html.

1. If we don’t pass health reform now, 158,000 Tennesseans will lose health insurance by 2019. 

• If we do nothing, 1,065,000 Tennesseans will lack health insurance by 2019, leaving 1,065,000 people with few options when they get sick.
• If Congress does the right thing and passes health reform, 611,000 Tennesseans will gain coverage.

2. If we don’t pass health reform now, the average Tennessean’s family insurance premium will increase by $7,737 by 2019.

• These increases in family premiums happen at a time of record-breaking profits for health insurance companies. The five biggest for-profit health insurers saw a combined $12.2 billion in profits in 2009.
• Passing health reform will provide subsidies to millions of Americans in order to make health insurance affordable. Health reform will also hold insurance companies accountable to their policyholders and not just their stockholders by requiring insurers to spend 85 cents of every dollar on actual health care.

3. If we don’t pass health reform now, more Tennesseans—our parents, our friends, our neighbors—will die because they lack health insurance.

• Nearly 13 working-age Tennesseans die each week because they lack health insurance.
• Health reform will expand life-saving coverage to thousands of Tennessee families.

4. If we don’t pass health reform now, Tennessee’s small businesses will pay $2.8 billion more for health care premiums by 2018, stifling innovation and job growth. 

• While Tennessee’s small businesses spent $2.1 billion on health care premiums in 2008, that number will rise precipitously to $4.9 billion by 2018 without health reform.
• By passing health reform, Congress will provide tax credits and a new marketplace for small businesses to provide quality, affordable coverage to their employees.

5. If we don’t pass health reform now, 177,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Tennessee will continue to hit the “doughnut hole,” or gap in Medicare Part D drug coverage.

• The doughnut hole costs seniors an average of $4,080 per year. 
• Health reform will reduce the doughnut hole, ensuring that Tennessee’s Medicare enrollees will not have to choose between food or medicine.