50/50
Today’s health reform number from the White House: 50/50. If you’re an American under age 65, you have a 50/50 chance of finding yourself without health insurance coverage at some point in the next decade.
In his speech in Ohio yesterday, President Obama highlighted a story of one of the millions of Americans without health insurance. Natoma Canfield had to drop her insurance in January after rates went up by 40%, and just last week she was diagnosed with leukemia.
The President’s plan for reform includes more affordable choices of insurance plans, tax credits to help buy coverage if needed, and protection from exorbitant rate hikes by insurance companies.
You can learn more about the previous Health Reform by the Numbers on WhiteHouse.gov.
1. One in every six dollars in the U.S. economy is spent on health care today. If we do nothing, in 30 years, 1 out of every three dollars in our economy will be tied up in the health care system.
41. That’s the number of leading economists — including three Nobel Prize winners — who sent a letter to President Obama and Congress yesterday urging swift passage of health reform to rein in out-of-control costs. It is also the percentage of adults under age 65 who struggled with medical debt, had trouble paying medical bills, or faced both during a recent year.
625. That’s the number of people who lost their health insurance EVERY hour last year.
8. That’s the number of people every minute who are denied coverage, charged a higher rate, or otherwise discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition. It’s also the number of lobbyists hired by special interests to influence health reform for every member of Congress in 2009.
,125. That’s the average premium for employer-sponsored family coverage per month last year. Annually, it adds up to ,375 — roughly the amount someone earning a minimum wage makes.
