Cover the Uninsured: A continued effort
A guest column by Andy Heidt, Co-Chair, Covering Kids & Families-WI, and Frank D. Byrne, MD, President, St. Mary’s Hospital
Healthcare is one of the most important components to our quality of life. When people are sick, hurt, or not as healthy, their productivity suffers, the
economy suffers, and, most importantly, family well-being suffers. March 22-28 is national Cover the Uninsured Week. In order to provide quality
healthcare to our entire population and encourage productive, healthy communities, this campaign must be year-round and always a focus of our attention
and action.
Here in Madison, hospitals have made a strong commitment to serving the uninsured through financial assistance programs. Madison hospitals,
clinics and others are working with United Way to advance health care for children who aren’t documented citizens and to improve adult access to mental
health services. Partnerships, such as that between St. Mary’s and Madison-based ABC for Health, provide health care consumers with the information,
advocacy tools, and expert support they need to navigate through the complex and confusing health care financing system.
The United States has one of the most technologically advanced and high quality healthcare systems in the world. However, in order to truly access
healthcare, you need health insurance, something 45 million Americans (15.6 percent of the U.S. population) don’t have.
While Wisconsin continues to boast one of the lowest rates of uninsured in the country, in 2007 there were 488,000 people (9 percent of the
population) without health insurance for all or part of the year. Even here in Dane County there are significant numbers of uninsured children and adults.
Low wage workers, single adults under age 65 without children, people newly laid off, and immigrants are among the largest groups of uninsured people
in our community.
There are great disparities – by age, race, and employment status – between those who have health insurance and those who don’t. Younger adults,
ages 18 to 44, were more likely (11 percent uninsured in 2007) to be uninsured than other age groups and 21 percent of Latinos in Wisconsin were
uninsured in 2007, compared to only 4 percent of non-Latino Whites.
One way to begin addressing the lack of health insurance among Wisconsin residents is to ensure that those who are eligible for existing programs
get enrolled in those programs, namely BadgerCare Plus and Medicaid. This is one of the main goals of St. Mary’s collaboration with ABC for Health, a
partnership which if broadly replicated would significantly reduce the need for free medical care and improve the beneficiaries’ prospects for a healthy
future. An estimated 55,217 children who are uninsured in Wisconsin are eligible for BadgerCare Plus or Medicaid. We must reach those children and their
families and make certain that those eligible are enrolled in these high-quality family health care programs.
The costs to the community associated with lack of insurance are significant. People postpone going to the doctor until they are severely injured or
dangerously ill, which results in worse outcomes. They ultimately may go to the emergency room, where costs are higher. Those costs are then passed
along to consumers of private health insurance in the form of higher premiums, eroding the ability of individuals and businesses to afford those
premiums. In less extreme cases, the costs of lost time at work, and the effect of carrying illness to work and school are a drain on our entire community.
That’s why programs like BadgerCare Plus are so cost effective and such a good investment of public resources. Covering the uninsured actually saves
individuals and employers a lot of money.
Wisconsin has been a national leader in the expansion of public health insurance. The 2008 rollout of BadgerCare Plus expanded coverage to more
children, parents and pregnant women. It appears likely that coverage will extend to low income single adults through the BadgerCare Core Plan this
July. We applaud this critical coverage expansion, which brings the state even closer to the ultimate goal of insuring everybody in the state.
Even being insured is not always enough. Many people carry only catastrophic insurance. While this provides coverage for extreme medical
emergencies, routine health care services must be paid out of pocket. Even for those with more comprehensive insurance, monthly premiums and co-
pays for doctor visits and prescription drugs can add up to make health care unaffordable and inaccessible for many.
It’s about time we join nearly every other industrialized nation and make accessible, affordable health care for all a national priority. Wisconsin has
made significant strides toward improving access, and the national health care reform agenda appears to be gaining momentum.
The negative impact of having so many uninsured has reached crisis stage. Solutions exist. Ensuring the health and well being of all residents is the
right thing to do. The time to act is now!
For more information about Covering Kids & Families check our Web site at www.ckfwi.org or call 608-261-1455. For more information about
Wisconsin’s health care and other benefit programs visit http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/ForwardHealth.
Healthcare is one of the most important components to our quality of life. When people are sick, hurt, or not as healthy, their productivity suffers, the
economy suffers, and, most importantly, family well-being suffers. March 22-28 is national Cover the Uninsured Week. In order to provide quality
healthcare to our entire population and encourage productive, healthy communities, this campaign must be year-round and always a focus of our attention
and action.
Here in Madison, hospitals have made a strong commitment to serving the uninsured through financial assistance programs. Madison hospitals,
clinics and others are working with United Way to advance health care for children who aren’t documented citizens and to improve adult access to mental
health services. Partnerships, such as that between St. Mary’s and Madison-based ABC for Health, provide health care consumers with the information,
advocacy tools, and expert support they need to navigate through the complex and confusing health care financing system.
The United States has one of the most technologically advanced and high quality healthcare systems in the world. However, in order to truly access
healthcare, you need health insurance, something 45 million Americans (15.6 percent of the U.S. population) don’t have.
While Wisconsin continues to boast one of the lowest rates of uninsured in the country, in 2007 there were 488,000 people (9 percent of the
population) without health insurance for all or part of the year. Even here in Dane County there are significant numbers of uninsured children and adults.
Low wage workers, single adults under age 65 without children, people newly laid off, and immigrants are among the largest groups of uninsured people
in our community.
There are great disparities – by age, race, and employment status – between those who have health insurance and those who don’t. Younger adults,
ages 18 to 44, were more likely (11 percent uninsured in 2007) to be uninsured than other age groups and 21 percent of Latinos in Wisconsin were
uninsured in 2007, compared to only 4 percent of non-Latino Whites.
One way to begin addressing the lack of health insurance among Wisconsin residents is to ensure that those who are eligible for existing programs
get enrolled in those programs, namely BadgerCare Plus and Medicaid. This is one of the main goals of St. Mary’s collaboration with ABC for Health, a
partnership which if broadly replicated would significantly reduce the need for free medical care and improve the beneficiaries’ prospects for a healthy
future. An estimated 55,217 children who are uninsured in Wisconsin are eligible for BadgerCare Plus or Medicaid. We must reach those children and their
families and make certain that those eligible are enrolled in these high-quality family health care programs.
The costs to the community associated with lack of insurance are significant. People postpone going to the doctor until they are severely injured or
dangerously ill, which results in worse outcomes. They ultimately may go to the emergency room, where costs are higher. Those costs are then passed
along to consumers of private health insurance in the form of higher premiums, eroding the ability of individuals and businesses to afford those
premiums. In less extreme cases, the costs of lost time at work, and the effect of carrying illness to work and school are a drain on our entire community.
That’s why programs like BadgerCare Plus are so cost effective and such a good investment of public resources. Covering the uninsured actually saves
individuals and employers a lot of money.
Wisconsin has been a national leader in the expansion of public health insurance. The 2008 rollout of BadgerCare Plus expanded coverage to more
children, parents and pregnant women. It appears likely that coverage will extend to low income single adults through the BadgerCare Core Plan this
July. We applaud this critical coverage expansion, which brings the state even closer to the ultimate goal of insuring everybody in the state.
Even being insured is not always enough. Many people carry only catastrophic insurance. While this provides coverage for extreme medical
emergencies, routine health care services must be paid out of pocket. Even for those with more comprehensive insurance, monthly premiums and co-
pays for doctor visits and prescription drugs can add up to make health care unaffordable and inaccessible for many.
It’s about time we join nearly every other industrialized nation and make accessible, affordable health care for all a national priority. Wisconsin has
made significant strides toward improving access, and the national health care reform agenda appears to be gaining momentum.
The negative impact of having so many uninsured has reached crisis stage. Solutions exist. Ensuring the health and well being of all residents is the
right thing to do. The time to act is now!
For more information about Covering Kids & Families check our Web site at www.ckfwi.org or call 608-261-1455. For more information about
Wisconsin’s health care and other benefit programs visit http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/ForwardHealth.