Put simply, Senator Max Baucus’ health reform proposal appears to have been well worth the $3M he has received from the health insurance industry while sticking it to middle class America.
Below is a recap of what maintaining the status quo has already cost Oregon.
Health Insurance Reform Cannot Wait in Oregon
Last week, the U.S. Census released its new numbers for the uninsured. The results are sobering and confirm that health insurance reform cannot wait another year. Nationwide, the number of uninsured increased from 39.8 million in 2001 to 46.3 million in 2008. The facts below underscore the urgency of health insurance reform for residents of Oregon.
* The status quo is not an option. The number of uninsured in Oregon has increased from 430,000 in 2001 to 621,000 in 2008. The percent of non-elderly adults without insurance increased from 15.2% to 21.5%. And this number only considers people who are uninsured for an entire year – it does not include the millions of people in Oregon who have more recently lost coverage through the recession, or who had shorter gaps in their coverage.
* Private coverage is eroding under the status quo. The percentage of people with employer-based coverage decreased from 73.1% of the population in 2001 to 69.7% in 2008.
* More workers are being left without protection from health care costs. Too many workers in Oregon do not have health coverage, at 393,000 in 2008. And the proportion of workers from Oregon without insurance has increased, from 14.6% in 2001 to 20.2% in 2008.
* The problem of the uninsured is a problem that crosses income brackets. The new Census numbers also drive home the fact that everyone in Oregon is vulnerable to losing health insurance. An additional 57,000 people from high-income households are now uninsured.
