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May 13, 2008
Ins and Outs of the Healthcare Issue
Fortune interviewed Aetna CEO Ron Williams about the state of health care insurance in America. I found the stats in the quote below fascinating:
"I'm always amazed that 20% of the 47 million uninsured are eligible today for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program. They could sign up and have a relationship with a primary-care physician. About 10% of the 47 million are college and university students, very inexpensive to insure. Slightly more than 20% are not citizens but are in the country legally."We might find a way to link visa entry or other mechanisms with comprehensive coverage. And about 20% have household incomes above $75,000. On this we agree with many of the presidential candidates. Aetna believes there is a place for an individual coverage requirement for individuals who can afford insurance. I think reasonable people could agree that at some point there's enough income that someone should be expected to participate in the health-care system. That leaves us with about 14 million to 17 million who really need tax credits and subsidies or tax deductions."
We'll take his stats at face value for the moment, and halfway discount the Aetna commercial for government-required coverage of people earning $75,000 or more.
I'm left with three thoughts:
#1, significant parts of the uninsured issue parallel the patient compliance issue. Blaming the uninsured is a not the solution, but a good portion of those who are uninsured are either unaware that they don't have to go without insurance or unwilling to pay a manageable amount for it.
#2, the number of people who fall fully outside the system with no present way to get health care is more manageable than many people think.
#3, as a small business owner, I can tell you that many of the real problems of American health insurance are to be found in the costs for the fully insured.
Posted by Jason Richardson at May 13, 2008 12:27 PM