The Senate is off during for the July 4th holiday. I’m finding it difficult to celebrate Independence Day when our country is considering the Senate healthcare bill. Here are a few of the questions I’m struggling to answer:
Why is it OK for the US to kill 200,000 citizens?
Time for some math.
- The CBO estimates that 22 million people will lose insurance coverage over the next 10 years.
- Harvard researchers recently published a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine stating that one life is saved for every 830 people who gain health insurance.
Based on those numbers, an estimated 200,000 preventable deaths could occur because fewer Americans have access to medical coverage.
On 9/11, almost 3,000 Americans were killed by terrorists. Look at the impact that those deaths continue to have on American policy and spending. But it’s OK for the US to kill over 600% more of its own citizens by making insurance unaffordable?
Why is it OK for the US to kill mothers and babies?
Pro-life debates have focused mostly on abortion, but two other discussions need to be addressed – maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate.
- We are the only industrialized country where the maternal mortality rate is increasing, Studies have attributed this increase to lack of health care.
- The infant mortality rate in the US is higher than most industrialized nations, and a big reason is lack of health care.
- For every dollar spent on health care prior to conception, $1.62-$5.19 is saved in maternal and fetal care expenses.
- For every dollar spent on prenatal health care, employers save $3.33 on care after birth and $4.63 on care for long-term health needs for illness, chronic care, and impairment.
Why discourage people from early detection of disease?
Remembering the saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure? It’s cheaper to treat illnesses and reduce the number of deaths with early detection and treatment.
The Senate healthcare bill allows states to apply for waivers so that they do not have to cover the essential health benefits that support early detection. Whether cancer or childbirth, the overall costs and mortality rates are lower when people have access to care earlier. Encouraging preventive care saves both dollars and lives.
Colorectal cancer has the third highest cancer-related death rate for women and the second highest for men. The five-year survival rate for Stage I colon cancer is 92% and 87% for rectal cancer. For Stage IV, it’s 11% for colon and 12% for rectal. So more people survive who are diagnosed early.
Why are drug treatment programs at risk during an epidemic?
Drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in the US. Americans consume 80% of the opioids in the world. Yet the Senate healthcare bill only includes money for one year of opioid treatment.
Current coverage of essential health benefits includes drug treatment. States can apply for waivers that would allow them to offer insurance packages without drug treatment. How many people are going to say:
- I’ll get addicted to drugs next year, so I’d better buy coverage.
- My daughter is going to OD on heroin, so I need to make sure she’d get the care she needs.
Substance abuse is the fifth most impactful condition on the commercially insured, according to Blue Cross Blue Shield. Opioid abuse increased 493% between 2010 and 2016. Without improved access to treatment, it’s only going to get worse.
Why are Senators making it harder for their peers to get coverage?
Eighty-four Senators are over 50. Yet Americans over 50 will have premiums rise by more than 60%. People who have worked for decades and saved for retirement will realize that they did not save enough money for their insurance and healthcare. Senators have a far better insurance program for free, yet are expecting their peers to pay more for less.
One Final Question…
As we celebrate our independence this week, let’s remember Thomas Jefferson’s words from the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Senators, how can you expect us to believe that denying health care access to millions supports these unalienable Rights?
