Case for Access

 

Today, about one in six Americans – 47 million people – lack insurance coverage for health care services and prescription medications. 

Of that number, some 36.3 million fall between 18 and 64 years of age – in their prime working years.  An estimated 71 percent – or 8 of 10 persons – are in families where an adult worked either full- or part-time but

  • did not qualify to receive health care benefits from their employers,
  • worked for employers who did not provide health care coverage,
  • lacked financial resources to pay premiums for private health insurance and/or
  • made too much money to qualify for publicly supported health insurance through Medicaid and other programs.

The National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine estimates 18,000 adults die annually because they are uninsured and can’t get appropriate health care. IOM studies note hospitalized patients without health insurance receive fewer needed services and lower-quality care and have a greater risk of dying in the hospital or shortly after discharge than patients with insurance.

Meeting health care system challenges for uninsured

A struggling health care system nationally faces additional pressures:

  • More unemployed adults without the resources to afford health care coverage,
  • Rising costs for health care that also raise health insurance premiums,
  • Fewer employers able to offer workers health care benefits,
  • Growing reliance of the uninsured public on emergency room service to meet routine as well as critical health care needs and
  • An aging population bulge at the top end of the 18-to-64 age group as "baby boomers" near retirement.

Lacking action at the state or national level to reform the existing health care system to meet these challenges, grassroots initiatives have sprung up in communities across the country to provide access to and coordinate health care for a large and growing number of uninsured individuals and families.

Today, 18 access to health care collaboratives work in Michigan, including UPHAC and the five Local Access Coalitions that serve the Upper Peninsula.

These community efforts to improve access to health care for needy neighbors, family and friends have the advantage of collaborative action by civic leaders, providers, social service agencies and interested citizens in addressing local needs for a health care "safety net."

In essence, access to health care organizations like the Upper Peninsula's Access Coalitions are pieces of the evolving health care reform "puzzle." In practice every day, they are crucial connections for those who need health care now but can't afford it.

While such local programs can support or complement public or private insurance programs, they could not sustain their work if left to independently shoulder the full burden of providing access to health care for all uninsured residents in their areas. Community support – volunteer services and financial resources -- is an essential element of these locally developed and focused access to health care programs serving Upper Peninsula residents.