Health Insurance
December 5, 2005
The New York Times reports that while the number of Americans without health insurance grows, the number of children who lack insurance is actually decreasing. The article cites a combination of federal and state programs as the source of the decline.
As a result of these and other steps, there are 350,000 fewer uninsured children in the United States than there were in 2000, the foundation reported. Over the same period, the overall number of uninsured rose by six million.
While elected officials cannot agree on how to provide or pay for health coverage for uninsured adults, there seems to be a consensus in many states that covering children is medically wise and politically smart.
However, even the situation for children is not uniformly favorable. Eleven states facing political and financial pressure, including Maryland, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, made it more difficult for eligible children to retain coverage.
Today’s Wall Street Journal has a heartbreaking story about healthcare in China (subscription). Dejie, age 7, has leukemia. His parents take him to a hospital in Beijing, which is 300 miles from their home. Hospitals in China require payment in advance, so Dejie’s parents borrow money from relatives and neighbors to pay for their son’s treatment.
In the past few weeks, Mr. Cui and Ms. Yang have been forced to accept a terrible reality: Even though their son’s leukemia is considered highly treatable, they may never raise enough money to cure him. The hospital’s estimated fees of $18,500 to complete an initial 61â„2-month course of treatment are impossibly high set against the family’s annual income of less than $350.
