Today’s Number: 1
Today, the White House’s health reform number of the day is 1.
1 in every six dollars in the U.S. economy is spent on health care today. And if we do nothing, 1 out of every three dollars will go toward health care in 30 years.
Here is just some of what could happen if we don’t pass reform, from a new report highlighted on the White House blog:
- Families will face dramatically higher health care costs. Individual and family spending on premiums and out-of-pocket health care costs will increase significantly. Spending would jump 34 percent by 2015 and 79 percent by 2020.
- Premiums will become increasingly expensive for employers and their workers. Premiums for both single and family policies would more than double by 2020, increasing from ,800 to ,300 for single policies, and from ,100 to ,600 for family policies.
- Employers will see large increases in premium costs. Employer spending on premiums would increase from 0 billion in 2010 to 1 billion in 2020 — a 98 percent increase.
- Many small and medium sized firms would quit offering health care coverage to workers. As premiums nearly double, employees in small firms would see offers of health insurance almost cut in half, dropping from 41 percent of firms offering insurance in 2010 to 23 percent in 2020. Medium-sized firms would also cut offers of health insurance, dropping from 90 percent in 2010 to 75 percent in 2020.
Learn more about last week’s Health Reform by the Numbers.
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.
