August 20, 2008 - Working-age
Americans are facing mounting problems when it comes to affording health care,
a result of what analysts are calling a "perfect storm" of economic
woes.
In 2007, 41 percent of working-age Americans - 72 million people - reported having medical bill problems or trouble paying off medical debts, up from 34 percent in 2005.
Another 7 million adults over 65 had similar problems, bringing the total to 79 million adults struggling to pay health-care bills, according to a new study from The Commonwealth Fund, Losing Ground: How the Loss of Adequate Health Insurance Is Burdening Working Families.
"These findings provide further evidence that the health system is falling short of where it needs to be to ensure health and economic security," Karen Davis, president of The Commonwealth Fund, said at a Tuesday teleconference. "We need a new administration to make universal and affordable health insurance available," she said.
Also unsettling is the fact that adults in more income groups are being affected.
"What is notable is how this is spreading up the income scale," said Commonwealth Fund assistant vice president Sara Collins.
Ed. Note: The solution is not universal government healthcare. The solution is for the Amerikan people to stop going to the doctor or hospital every time they have a bruise, or sneeze, or an ache or pain. The Amerikan people have been trained to seek medical attention for every little thing that bothers them. The only solution to the healthcare “crisis” is for the people to grow up and start acting like adults. Remember, whenever the government pays for something, it must first steal from hardworking people, who are likely as not less well off than those seeking the government assistance.