Notable & Quotable

When it comes to health care, government has an obligation to care for the elderly, the disabled and poor children. And we will meet those responsibilities.

By HomeCare Staff

“When it comes to health care, government has an obligation to care for the elderly, the disabled and poor children. And we will meet those responsibilities. For all other Americans, private health insurance is the best way to meet their needs.”
— President George W. Bush, in his State of the Union address last month. In the address, Bush proposed a plan to help cover the nation’s uninsured that includes changes to the tax code and federal assistance to states.

6.9% Percentage by which health care spending grew in 2005, compared to 7.2 percent in 2004 and 8.1 percent in 2003, marking the slowest growth rate since 1999 when spending rose 6.2 percent

Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

“Diabetes is a national health epidemic — the impact of which is felt most heavily in the Medicare population.”
— U.S. Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., joined by 17 Senate colleagues, in a bipartisan letter sent to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt in December urging that a priority be placed on diabetes screening and prevention for Medicare beneficiaries.
74% of consumers polled recently said they don’t always take their prescription medications as directed.

Source: National Community Pharmacists Association

“More than 60 emergency rooms have closed over the past decade because they didn’t want to keep treating people without insurance. Unpaid medical bills mean billions of dollars in hidden taxes for the rest of us because those services all have to be paid for. So we pay higher deductibles, costs for treatment, premiums and co-pays. Companies stop offering coverage, which leads to more people without insurance, and the whole cycle keeps repeating.”
— California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who revealed a reform plan last month that would require all residents to have health insurance.
88% of health care leaders surveyed said expanding coverage for the uninsured is “absolutely essential” or “very important” as a top health care priority for the new Congress over the next five years.

Source: The Commonwealth Fund

Author

OUR DIGITAL PARTNERS

RELATED ARTICLES