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COLBURN: Expanding access to health insurance is not enough

Deborah Colburn

Published August 20, 2008 at 6 a.m.

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(This Web-only Speakout has not been edited)

The Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved (CCMU) applauds the University of Colorado Denver, School of Medicine for conducting its voluntary survey that determined that more than a third of the patients who went to 37 primary-care health clinics across Colorado on a single day were underinsured. Many of these patients skip recommended tests, delay seeking care, or do not fill their prescriptions because of cost. The study concludes, and we concur, that “merely increasing access to insurance does not seem to be the much-hoped-for panacea for solving the nation’s health care crisis.” The fact that the study only looked at patients who were willing to come to the office to see a health care provider and excluded those who may not have even been willing to do that out of concerns of the costs would suggest that this study would underestimate the total percentage of underinsured.

Annual double-digit increases to employers’ health insurance costs, with resultant shifting of a sizeable chunk of the increase to employees and higher annual deductibles, are all contributing to the rising number of underinsured. We at CCMU believe that working people should be able to take their children to the doctor and not risk financial ruin due to an illness. We need health care reform that addresses the fact that health care premiums have nearly doubled for the average family in the last seven years at the same time as insurance company profits have more than doubled.

Since 1997, CCMU has played a large role in the development of sustainable, effective public policy that helps Coloradans receive access to quality, timely, affordable care. We have a consistent commitment to leading health care reform efforts that will improve Colorado’s health care system. We ask you to join us in our efforts. Visit us at www.ccmu.org.

Deborah Colburn is executive director of the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved in Denver.

Comments

  • August 20, 2008

    10:17 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    lucy writes:

    Expanding access will be made even more difficult when our own legislators/governor are doing their part to insure dramatically higher premiums to small businesses starting 1/1/09 with the passage of HB1355. Our rates increased 12% (and our coverage decreased) effective October 1, 2008 to $436 individual and $1261 family. As a result of this bill which disallows discounts for healthy groups, our premiums will increase 23% in addition to the regular annual (usually double digit) rate increase at our next renewal, so our premiums will be a minimum of $545 individual and $1575 family in one year. This is for a moderately good HMO plan. Governor Ritter signed the bill because "he felt it was the right thing to do." I guess it is if your intent is to bring about the eventual collapse of entire health insurance system. Small businesses will no longer be able to afford to offer the insurance when they're required to pay at least 50% of employee premiums and will not longer be able to meet the 75% required participation rate for group policies when their younger, healthier, poorer employees opt out of the coverage in ever increasing numbers.

  • August 21, 2008

    8:05 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Mike_In_Hartsel writes:

    It is not the function of government to provide food, clothing, shelter, or medicine to the people. What these people want is a socialistic state that heavily taxes the people to provide everything for everyone. That is a formula for economic disaster.

  • August 21, 2008

    12:26 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    BBFISH writes:

    It truly amazes me how much we spend and agonize over the underserved. I owned a 40 employee business for 19 years and provided health care for my employees. We paid 100% of the cost for 17years, but the increase of premiums 10-25% per year forced us to cap what we would expose ourselves to and the rest had to be paid by the employee. The very first year on the new plan every employee that did not have a family plan decided not to take the insurance, which was 22. We passed on a weekly charge of $6.22 per week and they refused to pay that amount. $6.22 per week to have medical insurance!?
    I have spent the last year sitting on the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce Healthcare Committee and the one thing that stood out was how many members of this committee were from organizations that were for the underserved. There was more people in those meetings for the underserved than any other category. I personally pay $1000.00 per month for coverage for my wife and two sons and only see that going higher.

    My point is that we focus on the people that we consider underserved and there are truly needy in every community but when I offered coverage for an individual for @$25 per month and they refuse and now they are on the underserved list, something in wrong.