CoverTheUninsured.org Weekly News Digest

Cover the Uninsured Week 2008 took place April 27-May 3, with more than 1,000 activities taking place across the country. Please visit www.CoverTheUninsured.org to find resources for people seeking health coverage, as well as news and information about the campaign.

For the week of August 25, 2008:

News & Opinion

High Medical Costs Are Weighing Heavily on Both the Insured and Uninsured
According to a survey by the Commonwealth Fund, "Americans are struggling to pay medical bills and are accumulating medical debt at an increasing rate" due to health care costs that are rising faster than incomes and the soaring prices of food, gas and other items, reports the Washington Post.
Source(s): Joshi, Washington Post, 8/20/08

Other Issues Surpass Health Care as Top Concern
The issue of health care is "languishing far behind the economy, the war and the price of gas" as a top concern among Americans this election year, with one CBS poll from August showing voter interest on the subject at 8 percent, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Source(s): Zuckman, Chicago Tribune, 8/21/08

Uninsured Americans Will Pay $30 Billion in Health Care Costs in 2008
"Americans who go without health insurance for any part of 2008 will spend $30 billion out of pocket for health care and they will get $56 billion worth of free care," according to a study from researchers at George Mason University and the Urban Institute, reports Reuters.
Source(s): Reuters, 8/25/08

Ad Campaign Used to Fight Universal Health Coverage Returns to Promote Reform
The "Harry and Louise" characters that were used in 1994 in an advertising campaign that opposed President Bill Clinton’s plan for universal health coverage have returned to the air waves, but now they are "asking the presidential contenders to make health care their top domestic priority," reports the Associated Press.
Source(s): Freking, Associated Press, 8/19/08

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Kentucky Criticized for Not Enrolling Eligible Kids in State Health Program
More than 60,000 uninsured children from low-income families are eligible for the Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program (KCHIP), but the state has not done a good job informing parents about the program and has made the application process too complicated, according to a report by Kentucky Voices for Health, reports the Courier-Journal (Louisville, Ky.).
Source(s): Yetter, Courier-Journal, 8/19/08

Thousands of California Children Will Likely Lose Health Insurance
Policy changes by the California Legislature regarding the state’s public health care programs, along with cuts to privately run health care initiatives, are expected to lead to thousands of children losing their coverage, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Source(s): Rau, Los Angeles Times, 8/24/08

About Three-Quarters of Uninsured in Massachusetts Now Have Coverage
Since the launch of Massachusetts’ groundbreaking universal health care program in June 2006, 439,000 previously uninsured residents have gained coverage--nearly three-quarters of the 600,000 residents who were estimated to have lacked health insurance--"and nearly half of them signed up for private insurance not funded by taxpayers," reports the Boston Globe.
Source(s): Lazar, Boston Globe, 8/20/08

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CoverTheUninsured.org Weekly News Digest Cover the Uninsured Week 2008 took place April 27-May 3, with more than 1,000 activities taking place across the country. Please visit www.CoverTheUninsured.org to find resources for people seeking health coverage, as well as news and information about the campaign. For the week of August 18, 2008: News & Opinion Insured Children Receive Better Care Than Uninsured A study conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota and released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that insured children are much more likely to visit a doctor’s office and have regular check-ups than uninsured children, reports the Washington Post. Source(s): Washington Post, 8/14/08 Some Make Marital Decisions Based on Health Insurance Needs An increasing number of Americans are choosing to marry or divorce in order to gain access to affordable health insurance or to maintain coverage they already have, according to an article in the New York Times. Source(s): Sack, New York Times, 8/13/08 This Year’s Rise in Health Care Costs Is Lower Than in Previous Years While health care costs are expected to rise by an average of 10.6 percent this year beginning in April 2008, that is the smallest increase over the past six years, according to a survey by Aon Consulting Worldwide and reported on by the Associated Press. Source(s): Associated Press, 8/12/08 Americans Visit Doctor Less as Economy Slows A poll conducted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners found that 22 percent of respondents had chosen not to visit the doctor and 11 percent cut back on their prescription medications due to the poor economy, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Source(s): Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 8/13/08 Hispanics Increasingly Forgo Medical Care According to a survey by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Hispanics "are less likely to regularly see a doctor, even when insurance and language are not factors," reports the San Jose Mercury News. Source(s): Davila, San Jose Mercury News, 8/13/08 Bush Administration Won’t Penalize States for Not Complying With SCHIP Rules The Bush administration announced that it would not penalize states for "failing to install restrictions making it harder for middle-income children to participate" in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), reports USA Today. Source(s): USA Today, 8/14/08 More Individuals Are Getting Health Insurance Through Associations With health insurance costs rising, more small-business owners and others who do not have access to employer-sponsored health insurance are trying to find less expensive group-like coverage through professional associations, reports the Wall Street Journal. Source(s): Knight, Wall Street Journal, 8/12/08 State Budget Deficits Lead to Medicaid Cuts In the face of budget deficits, California and New York "are proposing changes in Medicaid that could affect the eligibility of hundreds of thousands of people or decrease funding for hospitals, doctors, dentists, and pharmacists," and other states are "tacking on fees or cutting funds for charity care in hospitals," reports the Christian Science Monitor. Source(s): Scherer, Christian Science Monitor, 8/15/08 OPINION: Covering Uninsured Job Seekers Is a First Step to Health Care Reform Writing in a Washington Times op-ed that the U.S. health care system "is too big, too complex and too dynamic for Washington politicians to ‘fix’ in one piece of legislation," Gary Andres, vice chairman of Dutko Worldwide, and James C. Capretta, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, suggest providing coverage to job seekers as a good first step towards reform. Source(s): Andres and Capretta, Washington Times, 8/14/08 CoverTheUninsured.org a project of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Copyright © The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation All rights reserved This email has been processed and sent to you by CoverTheUninsured.org. If you have signed up for news updates, but no longer wish to receive this email, visit our email removal page.

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CoverTheUninsured.org Weekly News Digest

Cover the Uninsured Week 2008 took place April 27-May 3, with more than 1,000 activities taking place across the country. Please visit www.CoverTheUninsured.org to find resources for people seeking health coverage, as well as news and information about the campaign.

For the week of May 12, 2008:

News & Opinion

Uninsured Illegal Immigrants Often Go Without Conventional Health Care
Illegal immigrants, many of whom are poor, uninsured farm workers, often suffer from debilitating diseases without the benefits of conventional medicine, instead choosing to get their health care from "a parallel system of spiritual healers, home remedies and self-medication," reports the New York Times.
Source(s): Sack, New York Times, 5/10/08

Bush Administration Tries to Make It Easier for States to Expand SCHIP Coverage
After confronting Congressional pressure and legal challenges by states such as New York and New Jersey, "the Bush administration appears to be softening a policy that states have complained hindered their efforts to expand health-care coverage for poor children," reports the Wall Street Journal.
Source(s): Zhang, Wall Street Journal, 5/8/08 [subscription required]

U.S. Companies Are Struggling to Offset the Costs of Health Care Coverage
According to an analysis by the New America Foundation, U.S. manufacturers spend twice as much on employee health care coverage than their foreign competitors, and they are unable to "pass those costs onto workers by lowering wages or onto consumers by raising prices," reports the Los Angeles Times.
Source(s): Girion, Los Angeles Times, 5/6/08

Florida Legislature Passes Plan to Provide Basic Health Coverage to the Uninsured
After weeks of negotiations, the Florida Legislature approved a health care package championed by Governor Charlie Crist that would offer "no-frills coverage" to the 3.8 million uninsured Floridians, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Source(s): Hafenbrack, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 5/3/08

New Hampshire House Approves Plan to Lower Insurance Costs for Small Businesses
The New Hampshire House passed a bill that "calls for a commission to develop a new health insurance plan by Fall 2009 that will save businesses with 50 or fewer workers an estimated 15 percent on their health insurance costs," reports the Union Leader.
Source(s): Fahey, Union Leader, 5/7/08

OPINION: McCain’s Radical Health Care Plan Is the Best Option for the Nation
Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, writes in an op-ed for the Pioneer Press that the health care plan proposed by Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain is "the most radical overhaul of American health care policy in a decade and a half" because it would move the nation away from the current employer-based health insurance system.
Source(s): Tanner, Pioneer Press, 5/5/08

OPINION: Next President Must Focus on Finding Cures for Diseases
Former U.S. Representative Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee, chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), and Al From, founder and CEO of DLC, write in a Commercial Appeal op-ed that in addition to creating a universal health care plan, "our next president should create an American Center for Cures (ACC)—a cabinet-level authority charged with fighting life-threatening disease."
Source(s): Ford and From, Commercial Appeal, 5/8/08

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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a new research report today in conjunction with Cover the Uninsured Week. The report, "SQUEEZED: How Costs for Insuring Families are Outpacing Income" shows that a growing share of workers' earnings is being absorbed by the increasing cost of health insurance.

• Read the press release
• Download and share the report

Watch your inbox and check www.CoverTheUninsured.org for additional updates about this year's campaign.

Let's Get America Covered!

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Get involved in Cover the Uninsured Week (April 27 - May 3) and join thousands of others working together to help make health coverage for the uninsured a top priority.

Here are a few ways you can show your support to cover America's uninsured:

• Distribute information about available low-cost and free health coverage programs to uninsured individuals and families
• Host an event such as a health coverage forum with community, business and faith leaders
• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and work with the media

Register Your Event
Tell your community what you are doing and build attendance for your event by adding it to our Event Map. Visit our Event Planning Center to sign up as an event planner and register your events today.

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2008 Information Cards Available
Information Cards are available to order on our Web site. Great as handouts at events, these colorful and informative cards help spread the word about Cover the Uninsured Week and the importance of finding solutions for America's uninsured. Visit our Web site to place your order today.

Watch your inbox and check www.CoverTheUninsured.org for additional updates about this year's campaign and activities leading up to the Week.

Let's Get America Covered!

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CoverTheUninsured.org Weekly News Digest

Please visit www.CoverTheUninsured.org to find resources for people seeking health coverage, as well as news and information about this year's campaign and the importance of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

For the week of September 3, 2007:

News & Opinion

U.S. Census Reports 2.2 Million More Uninsured
New statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau last week show that the number of Americans without health insurance in 2006 was 47 million, an increase of 2.2 million over the previous year, reports USA Today.
Source(s): Appleby, USA Today, 8/28/07

Presidential Hopeful John Edwards Backs Mandatory Preventive Care
Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards announced that his "universal health care proposal" would mandate that all Americans go to a doctor for preventive care, reports the Associated Press.
Source(s): Lorentzen, Associated Press, 9/2/07

American Cancer Society Focuses Advertising Budget on Uninsured
The American Cancer Society plans to use its entire advertising budget for this year, a total of $15 million, to campaign against inadequate health insurance coverage, reports the New York Times.
Source(s): Sack, New York Times, 8/31/07 [registration required]

Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Nunez Near Agreement on Health Care
With two weeks left in California's legislative session, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez are focusing their negotiations on expanding medical coverage to nearly all of the 4.9 million Californians without health insurance, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Source(s): Rau, Los Angeles Times, 9/1/07

OPINION: Census Report Shows Number of Uninsured Remains a Key Issue
New figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau last week reported that another 2.2 million people, including 700,000 children, joined the ranks of the uninsured, a trend that shows health care remains a key national issue, as noted in a Chicago Tribune editorial.
Source(s): Neikirk and Graham, Chicago Tribune, 8/28/07

OPINION: President Bush Should Make Insuring Kids a Priority
Following President Bush's threat last month to veto a pending expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), his administration released new rules that would keep states from covering more kids, as reported in a Wichita Eagle editorial.
Source(s): Holman, Wichita Eagle, 9/4/07

OPINION: New SCHIP Guidelines
The Bush administration's new guidelines for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) which make it difficult to expand eligibility above 250 percent of the federal poverty level seem "too stringent" because a "compelling case can be made for raising the limit to at least 300 percent, and there are plausible reasons in some states for going higher," a New York Times editorial states.
Source(s): New York Times, 9/2/07 [registration required]

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Copyright © The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation   All rights reserved
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CoverTheUninsured.org Weekly News Digest

Cover the Uninsured Week 2007, April 23-29, will focus on covering America's children. Please visit www.CoverTheUninsured.org to find resources for people seeking health coverage, as well as news and information about this year's campaign and the importance of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

For the week of May 7, 2007:

News & Opinion

Citizen-Lobbyists’ Tragic Tales of Being Uninsured Motivate Lawmakers
Congress and state legislators who "grapple this year with how to help the uninsured" are being influenced by the tales of those who have suffered due to lack of coverage, reports USA Today.
Source(s): Wolf, USA Today, 5/2/07

Bush and Republican Presidential Candidates at Odds Over SCHIP Funding
By not increasing funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in his proposed budget, President George Bush is "sacrificing credibility in one of the biggest health-care policy debates this year," reports the Wall Street Journal.
Source(s): Rogers, Wall Street Journal, 5/3/07 [subscription required]

OPINION: America’s 8.3 Million Uninsured Kids Are "a Stain on the Nation"
Los Angeles Times columnist Ronald Brownstein and United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger both endorsed expanded funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program in recent columns.
Source(s): Brownstein, Los Angeles Times, 5/2/07 [registration required]; Gettelfinger, Detroit News, 5/4/07

Large Business Coalition Endorses Mandate to Cover all Americans
A coalition of 36 large companies is launching a political campaign that calls for covering all Americans with a plan similar to that proposed by California Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Source(s): Rau, Los Angeles Times, 5/7/07

OPINION: Washington Should Follow Massachusetts’ Example to Cover the Uninsured, Kerry Writes
Massachusetts Democratic Senator John Kerry writes in a Boston Globe commentary that Washington should bring "meaningful, affordable health care to the uninsured—in Massachusetts and across America," by using reinsurance to combat health care costs.
Source(s): Kerry, Boston Globe, 5/2/07

Washington State’s Governor Gregoire Signs Law to Expand Health Coverage
Washington State Democratic Governor Chris Gregoire signed into law a broad health care reform plan aimed at both lowering costs and improving access, reports the Associated Press.
Source(s): Woodward, Associated Press, 5/2/07

OPINION: Health Care Crisis Not Dire Enough Yet to Prompt Action
The United States should do away with employer-based health coverage and reform the health care system, but "it’s going to be a long time before the large majority of Americans with decent coverage are persuaded to risk changing what they have," writes Atul Gawande, a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a staff writer for the New Yorker, in the New York Times.
Source(s): Gawande, New York Times, 5/5/07 [registration required]

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