Health care increasingly out of reach for millions of Americans

May 9th, 2012

Having trouble finding a doctor?

You’re not alone.

Tens of millions of adults under age 65 – both those with insurance and those without – saw their access to health care worsen dramatically over the past decade, according to a study abstract released Monday.

The findings suggest that more privately insured Americans are delaying treatment because of rising out-of-pocket costs, while safety-net programs for the poor and uninsured are failing to keep up with demand for care, say Urban Institute researchers who wrote the report.

Overall, the study published in the journal Health Affairs found that one in five American adults under 65 had an “unmet medical need” because of costs in 2010, compared with one in eight in 2000. They also

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Tags: Health Care, Millions

Court action could prolong health care fight

February 19th, 2012

Next months challenge to the Obama-sponsored health care law could affect the care available to most Americans, alter the balance of power between Washington and the states and remain a flash point through this presidential campaign.

Yet there is a path the Supreme Court could take when it hears the case that could delay for years any resolution of a main point of contention.

The core of the law is a requirement that most people buy health insurance by 2014 or face a tax penalty. But looming over the case is a federal policy that restricts the timing of lawsuits connected to the assessment and collection of any tax.

On the first day of their historic session March 26-28, the justices will consider that policy and address whether people who challenge the insurance requirement must first pay the disputed tax and seek a refund before bringing a lawsuit.

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Tags: Care, Health Care

How Health Care Reform Could Affect America’s Youth

February 3rd, 2010

The debate over health care reform continues to roil the nation, even though the recent election of Republican Senator Scott Brown has put passage of the legislation in doubt. Currently, the Senate version of the bill is idling in the House of Representatives, where Democrats are trying to decide on how best to proceed. If they pass the Senate bill as-is, with none of the revisions they wanted, it will go to directly to President Obama who will sign it into law. That scenario is far from certain, however, and what the final bill will look like remains to be seen.

Nonetheless, the essence of the bill seeks to fix America’s health care system – which costs much, much more than in other industrialized nations.

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Tags: Care Reform, Health Care, Health Care Reform, Reform

How Scott Brown Could Affect the Nation’s Health Care Policies

February 2nd, 2010

Democratic Senators had been working diligently to sculpt a health bill that they thought would please enough of the nation to justify being passed. And even though it wasn’t satisfactory to Republicans, it didn’t matter because Democrats carried 60 seats – enough to overcome a Republican filibuster.

That is, until Tuesday, when a shocking event occurred – the Democrats lost their easily-won Senate seat to Republican Scott Brown.

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Tags: Health, Health Care

The Story Behind the U.S. and Universal Health Care

January 29th, 2010

With all of the debate over health care in recent months, many have questioned whether our current health care system – or the many proposed versions of the health care overhaul – are sufficient enough to provide satisfactory care for the country. In fact, some believe that the United States should operate under a universal health care system like most other countries instead of sticking with private care options. (See our comparison of U.S. health care and the rest of the world)

In the countries that operate under this type of health care system, all citizens are required to receive some type of care, which is not the case in the United States.

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Tags: Care, Health Care